D-Day

The first day of the challenge had arrived. As a self confessed foodie, I was sure this was the beginning of the end. I even posted to my friends on Facebook, “my no-fun life is about to begin”, thinking paleo had to just be the most boring way to live.

But no judgement til you’ve tried it right? The number #1 goal is to get healthy again, not to whine about how boring my eating is.

I woke from 10 hours sleep, still tired, bloated, stomach cramps, a sore throat and sniffling with sinus. Yep, the brownie and cinnamon icecream had done me no favours, but again, those symptoms are totally normal for me. A cold every day of the week, no matter the season.

Reluctantly I took myself to the kitchen, a little voice saying, “start tomorrow, just have the oatmeal….” And boy was I tempted. But there in the fruit basket my banana cried and the bright red plump strawberries beckoned me.

And so the challenge began.

Breakfast. I swapped out my non fat Greek yoghurt with fruit for simply fruit. A banana and some strawberries. Nothing boring about that, even though I did miss the creaminess of the dairy.

Snacks. Carrot sticks with guacamole from Whole Foods which is free from corn, yeast and any other additives that I react to. My snacks would previously have consisted of rice or corn crackers with peanut butter or a little low fat Babybel cheese wheel.

Lunch. Tuna salad – kale, tomato, onion, cucumber and carrot splashed with apple cider vinegar and some fresh lemon juice. Got to say, it was damn good. What would I usually eat? I’d be dashing from work to the sushi store to grab a couple of tuna and avocado rolls or to the closest Vietnamese cafe for some can chua soup, or to the pub for a taco or chicken burrito. A burrito…mmmm, my mind totally drifted. Daydreaming is allowed – you can look but not touch…

Dinner. Here’s the fun one. Paleo meatloaf!! I could eat meatloaf every day, seriously. What’s not to love about a loaf that’s made from meat!? And it’s so easy to make – mix, bake, cut, eat. Awesome.

The only real change I had to make from a standard meatloaf is to switch the plain flour for almond flour. As it was my first time using almond flour, I was a little worried that the loaf would have a really nutty taste. But you know what? I couldn’t tell the difference. Win!!

Paleo Meatloaf (adapted from Eating for Idiots)

1 lb ground beef – grass fed, 85% lean
1 egg beaten
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I’d recommend using more or throwing in some diced tomatoes to increase flavour)
½ onion, very finely diced
1 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1tsp thyme
1 tbsp of finely chopped parsley
3 tbsp grated zucchini (optional)
1 grated carrot (optional)
Handful fresh basil
I tomato, diced
1/2 tsp blk pepper
1 tsp salt
3 oz mushrooms, finely diced
2 tbsp almond flour
1/2 tbsp coconut flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix all ingredients in bowl until combined. Do not overwork meat or you’ll toughen it.
Push into a loaf tin
Bake for 1 hours – keep checking as ovens vary, try not to overlook as meat will toughen
Let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Some notes on the recipe. I found the meatloaf crumbled a little when slicing it, but after cooling it in the fridge overnight, it was much easier the next day. It’s probably because I added some grated veggie which wasn’t in the original recipe.

I also found the meatloaf wasn’t that rich in taste, so if you can, splash in some red wine, use a little more tomato paste etc.

I served with cauliflower mash – 1 head of cauliflower cooked in chicken stock, then mashed – easy!

I forgot to take photos….sorry! But here is the one from Eating for Idiots which is what I adapted the recipe from (simply because of the ingredients I had on hand). It looked very similar!

photo taken from Eating for Idiots, this is not my own 🙂