A milestone?

So, I normally don't get too "personal" with my blog and try to keep it related to books and writing and teaching. But today I thought I'd post something that hits a little closer to home.

In the past couple of months, I've been seriously trying to trim down a bit. The typical American diet was causing this over-40 body to expand just a bit too much for my good health. So, what did I do? My husband got this brilliant idea that we should adopt a caveman diet. Geez. Basically, the idea is you eat protein (lean meats, seafood, etc.) and vegetables. It's sort of similar to the South Beach diet, from what I've heard. Anything that a caveman could hunt or gather is what our bodies really need--that's the argument anyway. We've cut out all cereal, most carbs (except what's naturally found in fruits and vegetables), and while my husband's weight loss is much more dramatic (and makes me seethe), I'm also seeing good results.


The first week I thought I would die. Seriously, I felt nauseous, grossed out by meat, terrified that my cholesterol was soaring due to eating too many eggs. But it's gotten much easier, and the weird thing is that I am craving lots fewer carbs than I used to.

The milestone I may have reached today was my experience this morning. I picked up two dozen donuts for my husband's pastors' conference this morning, and truly, didn't even feel all that tempted to order a spare to nosh on as I drove home.

I've discovered some great recipes and some not-so-great ones. Here are some of my favorites so far:

- Moroccan Chicken Soup
- Asparagus Soup (very simple--just asparagus, leeks, onion with a recipe like this)
- Curry Chicken Salad (I can't find the exact recipe I used, but this is similar)
- Almond Carrot muffins
- Almond Banana pancakes
- Spaghetti squash with sausage spaghetti sauce over the top (yummy with hot Italian sausage)
- Garlic Lemon Sea Scallops
- Boiled shrimp with Old Bay seasoning

I do miss tacos and pizza. I am not willing to try the "caveman" versions of these. Caveman pizza has a ground nut crust (ew), sauce, veggies, meat, and no cheese. Come on. That just isn't right.

For tacos, the tip is to replace the taco shells with lettuce. Ugh. It just doesn't work.

I adore this store, the Villa Park Fruit Market and only wish it were a little closer to home.

At the same time we're doing this, we're also limiting our grocery expenses. I have to shop around, but between Aldi and the Villa Park Fruit Market, we've kept our grocery budget low as well.