Fried Tilapia – Skip The W(h)ine If You Want To!

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I am in pain. A lot of pain. I have been going to the gym now two or three times a week since my last post, doing my running app and lifting weights. Coming home and doing my squats so that I can have a nice looking backside for the first time in my life. Thursday night it snowed, so I ramped up my running workout and cut the weights out so that I could get home before the roads got too bad. Yesterday I decided to pull out the stops on my workout to make up for it. I also switched from running on the treadmill to running on the elliptical because my ankles were complaining about Thursday’s workout. That elliptical is no joke. I’ve used one before because I prefer not having the high impact on my poor weak ankles, but I’d forgotten just how serious of a workout it was. I was sweating through the very same Couch to 5K workout that I had done on Thursday on the treadmill without breaking a sweat. And it was nice. I may have to continue to use those ellipticals.

So back to the pain. I’m just sore – I haven’t overdone it or pulled anything yet. Although when my ankle started complaining on Friday I got concerned. I haven’t felt my poor ankles complain like that since junior high! But I will tell you – getting back in shape takes commitment because I have been nothing but sore and tired for two weeks now. I’m not complaining, because I have been enjoying the workouts. When I get off work, I swear that I am not going to go to the gym because I am so tired, but by the time I get there I am psyched to start my workout. And I feel like a million bucks when I am done. It has been great to go to the gym and work out all of the stress that I have accumulated. Hopefully I am a much more pleasant person to be around because of it. You’d have to ask everyone else, because I am around myself all the time, and I wouldn’t know.

Another thing that this has allowed me to do is take a look at my priorities. Actually I am not sure that is how I would word it. It may be more like growing a backbone. Any way you word it, I have been trying to identify pieces of my life that I am not happy with and trying to figure out how to change it or make it better. Simplifying. Talking to the people involved and figuring out how to change things. I am not a big talker. I tend to wait until I am about to lose my mind before I say anything. When you are tired and sore, you tend to lose your mind quicker, so talking becomes a priority. People tend to react negatively when you lose your mind.

You must be looking at the title of this post and thinking,”Okay, she has really lost it. Fried stuff? Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, too. I have been fixing tilapia the same way for a long time, and it has gotten really, really old. To the point that I would refuse to fix it. So my wonderful fiancé recommended getting some almond meal and using it on the fish to fry it or bake it. Well, if I am going to use almond meal, I want to fry it. Fried fish is just awesome. Fried anything is awesome! (Can you tell that the workouts are making me extremely hungry as well?) I have been a huge fan of the Whole 30 program, and they recommend not Paleo-fying unhealthy recipes because it could cause bad habits. I am definitely not going to start posting Paleo brownies or cookies because I really do think that would be unfair to my brain, but the fried fish was a much needed, very awesome change. And the clean-up was amazing, too! Almond meal doesn’t get all gummy and nasty in the pan like flour does when you fry it, so the clean-up was not a nightmare like I expected it to be.

I haven’t hit on a spice mixture that I like yet, in amounts that I like. I tend to like my food on the spicy side – I like to taste the flavors – so I am still working on that. In my first batch of fish I used garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes. In fact, this is the recipe that I used for my first batch. I will work on tweaking the amounts or using different spices to suit my tastes, but this recipe was a much welcome change from the way that I have normally been cooking tilapia. I also used coconut oil instead of olive oil because I heard that it works better at higher temperatures, and I hate the smell of olive oil when it gets hot.

Hope you enjoy it! And thanks to Cavemom Chronicles for the inspiration. And to my fiancé, of course!

Lessons Learned – A New Year Do-Over

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Yes, I wussed out again. Remember when I told you about the girl that I work with who does CrossFit? And how excited I was about it? And how I was going to renew my focus on being able to do CrossFit in the new year? That was great, and a great feeling, but great feelings can’t get you through a workout. As some of you know, I have been doing CrossFit workouts at home for about six months now, although not all that consistently. The day after I posted that post, I looked up the workout for CrossFit Greensboro. It was a Saturday, and I was pumped.

Until I saw the workout: 800 m run? How far is 800 meters?

I pulled out Google and looked it up. And my heart sank: 800 meters is roughly half a mile.

Now, I’ve never been all that big into running. I have several family members who do the long distance running thing, and I have sat back in awe that anyone can do that, while secretly wishing that I could do it too. My second foray into a CrossFit gym had me walk out of the gym, completely worn out, after a half mile run. And that was just the warm up that day! I just don’t have the stamina and endurance to do it. Let’s face it – I’ve been sitting on the couch for seven years now. Stamina and endurance have a tendency to disappear when you do that.

Of course, there was more to the workout, and I considered dropping the running part and just doing the rest. 50 pull ups, 100 push ups, 150 squats. Oh, and then we were supposed to run another 800 m.

I debated dropping the running and doing the rest. I debated riding down the road to this gravel track nearby, doing the running, coming home to do the rest, and driving back out there to do the second run. I weighed it all. And then I stopped and got completely honest with myself. Do I really want to walk into a gym where they expect you to do these kind of runs every now and then, knowing full well that I simply can’t do it? One of the reasons why I walked out of the gym the last time was because I was so completely embarrassed by my performance. Do I want to put myself through that again? Is it worth it?

I weighed it all week, although not entirely seriously. I talked to the girl and told her that I planned on coming. I worked the cost into my budget. I stopped thinking about it. And then I talked to another friend of mine who I used to go to a different gym with. She told me how much I had inspired her to get busy in the gym. She’s been going all year. She hasn’t gotten hung up on what gym to go to and what workout to do. She has simply been going and getting it done.

I went to my old gym with her yesterday, and I have to say that I have missed it. I downloaded the “Couch to 5K” app on my phone so that I can work on my running, stamina, and endurance in a place where I won’t feel intimidated and embarrassed. I did my first workout with it yesterday, and it was really all that I needed. A structured running workout that I can restructure to my pace, because even that workout will get to be too much for me in about a week. And this morning I did some squats, and you know what? I realized that I don’t need a CrossFit gym to do this. I can tell that I am doing the squats right now. I am getting better at it. I have been working on my squats for an entire year on my own, and I am conquering them on my own. It took a while, but when I noticed that my center of gravity was different going down into the squat than it used to be and that I was getting lower into the squat than I used to, I was so proud of myself. Because I did that all by myself. Shoot, I’m getting choked up just writing about it, because that has been my goal for an entire year, and this morning I knew that I had reached it.

I told my friend yesterday that she ended up inspiring me just as much as I inspired her. I need to quit trying to make this so hard and just get out there and do what I can do. Every trip to the gym is a victory, and when a milestone is reached like the one I reached this morning, it is an even bigger victory. There are ways that I can identify goals that I want to reach, but I don’t need the name and the big, expensive gym to reach them. I just need patience and dedication. And I have shown myself that I really do have that. I told my fiancé yesterday about my friend saying how much I inspired her, and I asked him why it has been so hard for me to inspire myself. Well, now I see how that works, and I see the bigger picture.

A New Year – And Remastered Chili

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Well, I’m already slacking. I usually get in a year-end reflection before the new year begins, but I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Seriously, I plan on kicking 2013’s butt so I guess I was trying to get a head start. Hopefully this post will make up for it.

I’m not big on resolutions, but I feel like this is the year to make some commitments. After all, I am seriously beginning to connect with the knowledge that I am going to continue to be in bad shape if I don’t exercise, Paleo or not. Plus with what I do at my day job and my side business, I seriously need an outlet of some sort. That was made perfectly clear in 2012.

The reason why I do not like making resolutions is because I do not enjoy feeling like a failure. If I resolve to do something, and then it doesn’t happen, what progress have I really made? If I feel like a failure, how much harder is it going to be to try again later?

So I am just going to say that I am going to try to give CrossFit another shot. A do-over. And I have a buddy to do it with, so that may help me be more successful and not feel so intimidated by the big gym with all the strong people. Maybe I will stick with it for more than a week. Maybe I will hang for two this time! That was a joke – I’d really like to stick with it longer than that. I really want to chronicle the journey as well, and see where my mindset has gone.

On another note, I received my end-of-year summary from WordPress, and it seems that you people really like recipes. In fact, I would almost dare to say that one of the only reasons you visit me is for my food. I was holding out hope that it was for my incredible writing skills or my unbelievable wit, but I’m starting to take the hint. So I will give you what you want. At least today. You know how inconsistent I am when it comes to this blog.

You may remember a few weeks ago when I said that I was retooling the Best Chili Ever recipe, trying to find a way to make the chili without so many tomatoes. When I said that, the chili was actually cooking, and I did not feel right about posting a recipe before I knew what it tasted like.

It was Awesome! So here it is:

The Best Chili Ever: Remastered

2 pounds ground beef
1pound ground pork (or bulk Italian sausage for more flavor)
1.5 pounds stew beef
1 large onion, minced
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilis
2 poblano peppers, minced
4 Anaheim peppers, minced
1 small can Herdez salsa verde
2 cups beef broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
3tbsp ground cumin
3 – 4 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano

Brown the stew meat in a couple of tsp of coconut oil on very high heat. Remove the meat from the pan and put the diced onion into the pan, and cook until opaque. Add the beef broth and let cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the ground beef and pork (or sausage) and cook until the meat is browned. Place all of the meat (including the stew meat), spices, peppers, salsa verde, garlic, and tomatoes and chilies, into a pot and simmer over medium-low heat for no less than three hours. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes!

So Much To Tell You!

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I really should post more, so that way I don’t have to tell you, my two loyal readers, a bunch of news all at the same time! I mean, it can get overwhelming, and I have a tendency toward forgetfulness about things that I want to remember to do or talk about.

But not this time.

Remember that end-of-the-year post I did that mentioned how certain food studies make more sense in the context of a Paleo lifestyle? Like drinking eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Impossible, right? Not on Paleo – I can’t get enough water when I’m eating clean! Well, on the Sunday before Christmas my family was opening presents with my fiancé’s dad and his family. His stepmother had gone through great pains to make deviled eggs for me that were Paleo (and they turned out quite good, actually), and she had some other Paleo-friendly foods available. She also cracked open a bottle of red wine.

Now, I’m not a big wine drinker. I’ve only had a couple of glasses in my entire life, but I have been curious to taste wine since starting Paleo to see if the flavor of it was any better than I remember it. I had a chance a month or so ago at another family function, but I passed it by. It doesn’t take much alcohol for me to start feeling it, and there were a lot more people there that I didn’t know very well. But at Christmas the atmosphere was a little more laid back, so I decided to try the wine. I wasn’t even sure if wine was Paleo or not, but I distinctly remember not caring too much at the time. (According to Rob Wolfe, red wine is Paleo if taken in moderation.) The wine was good, and I thought about having a second glass a couple of times, but decided against it. Now, I had heard before that red wine is an aphrodisiac, but I didn’t put too much stock in it. I mean, this is one of those stupid studies that we wonder why people spend money on, right? Well, without giving out TMI, I am here to say that it is true. So I guess the study was right after all.

Enough said about that. So how was your Christmas?

On a completely different note, I went in to work late today and I found a bunch of different kids of different ages napping in my room – a mostly unheard-of occurrence. One of the teachers of the older children was in my room, also, and she asked me about my diet. When she heard that I was doing Paleo, she got very excited because ….

She does CrossFit! At the first CrossFit gym that I tried! We had so much fun talking about CrossFit and talking about doing it together and…

I might start going to a box again – maybe even as early as next week!

I was so excited to hear that someone I knew was doing CrossFit, and so aggravated that I hadn’t learned this before, but I am extremely excited that I may have a CrossFit workout buddy! I just have to see if I have to do those introductory classes again, and then I will be good to go!

And in other news, I think that I owe you a recipe, but I am going to have to post that another time. Hey, I have to do an end-of-the-year post, so you’ll probably get it before the end of the year!

Trying To Be Consistent

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I tried so hard to be lazy today. I didn’t want to do anything. But I had told myself that I was going to make a commitment to be more consistent with my CrossFit workouts, so I did one today. Actually I did part of one. Most of one. I think that my body is still trying to recover from last weekend’s workout. Hopefully I won’t be as sore this time as I was last time. I am glad that I did it, and I know that as I get stronger it will be easier for me to be motivated about it.

Last night we went to Texas Roadhouse. I love Texas Roadhouse because it is one of the only places that I feel that I can eat at and know that my food has nothing on it that it isn’t supposed to. And the steak is awesome! I had a huge steak, a sweet potato, and a salad with oil and vinegar. It was very tasty. I get so frustrated about how I feel after I eat out at most places, but that is one place that I can still go and be fine.

Right now I have a pot of the BEST chili EVER cooking. It is a modified version, though, because all of the tomatoes that were in the original version messed my stomach all up! Since it is on the stove right now simmering (it will be done in about twenty minutes – yay!) I haven’t had a chance to see if it is any good yet, so I will post the modified recipe after I figure that out.

I know that there are followers out there who have tried some of the recipes posted on this blog. If you have tried one, changed it in any way, or simply love it the way that it is, please comment on the posts! I love to hear from readers, and any modifications that you do could help everyone else out as well!

Paleo Shepards Pie

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It has been amazing how much things have changed just in the past month. I am taking a much-needed break from business planning to pursue other interests that I have been neglecting in the process. One of those interests is this blog. I am also trying to be more consistent with my CrossFit workouts. And I have started taking classes in Gracie Jiu Jitsu with my fiance.

Listen to me! I talk a great game, but I promise you – the last CrossFit workout that I did was last weekend, and I was so sore ALL WEEK that I could barely walk. I was lucky to be able to get through my Jiu Jitsu class last night! Actually, it feels great to be active and not sitting on my butt so much. I guess that needs to be the next step in my journey. After a year of cooking and eating Paleo, I am very comfortable with it – even under stress. Getting myself off of the couch is the logical next step.

One thing that I am nervous about is overdoing it. It seems that every time that I start a new exercise program I overdo it and get sick. I did my CrossFit workout last weekend and was super tired and sore all week. I was okay through the week, trying to take it easy so that I could recover. It wasn’t until the end of  the week that I felt like I might be getting sick. In fact, this morning I feel it even more, and I had a Jiu Jitsu class last night. I guess I should just make sure that I get some rest this weekend.

On another note, I developed a Paleo modification of one of my favorite comfort foods: Shepards Pie. And boy, is it good! The only problem that I have had recently with it is getting the ratio of filling to mashed cauliflower correct. I’ve only made it twice so far and I haven’t quite gotten it right either time. But it is so good that I can’t keep from sharing it any more!

Paleo Shepards Pie

1 lb ground beef

One head cauliflower

butter or other oil (for mashed cauliflower)

1 yellow onion, diced

1 bell pepper, any color you want

1 yellow squash, diced

1/2 c mushrooms, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

salt & pepper to taste

3 bunches of fresh basil (I use the basil in the tube, about a quarter to a half of the tube)

Preheat the oven to 350.

First, chop up the cauliflower and steam it. You don’t want to steam the cauliflower for too long because if it is too wet it will not cover the pie effectively. Keep it firm but not too firm.

Next, cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. When it is almost browned, add the garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. When it is completely browned, add the vegetables and the basil and cook until the vegetables are tender. While the vegetables are cooking, mash the cauliflower.

After the vegetables are done cooking, pour the meat and vegetables into a pie plate and spread the mashed cauliflower evenly on top. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Take it out and enjoy!

Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce

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Wow, it has been a while! But then again, I told you that it would be. I have been busy trying to get my side business off the ground – so busy, in fact, that I am taking a little break from it to try to clear my head. It has been very great and very rewarding so far!

Luckily, throughout all the craziness, my Paleo lifestyle has remained intact. I always say that this is the easiest “diet” to stick to! It does have its moments, though. I went to my conference last month and did pretty well, except for lunch. I made the best choices that I could – the best choice probably would have been to bring something to have, but I decided not to go that far. It affected me a little bit, and before I was even over the effects of that, I made a couple of really poor choices at Red Robin when I was there for my teenager’s cast party for their production of Romeo and Juliet. I have just in the last 12 hours gotten over that, and that was two weeks ago! I should really know better – I have been an emotional wreck for these last three weeks (when you count the aftermath of the conference). I seriously think that if I ever stopped eating Paleo, the people around me would have something to say about it, simply because I am so crazy when I make the wrong choices.

My teenager seems to agree with me on that front. While she was doing the play, she had a hard time staying Paleo. She told me that she couldn’t wait until the play was over so that she could start eating better. She said that she felt less stressed and less emotional when she was eating Paleo, and she always seemed to be happy. Who would have thought that bread and grains, which are said to release serotonin when you eat them, could have such a negative effect on your mood?

She turned her grandparents on to Paleo when she stayed with them over the summer, and her grandmother went to Costco and bought me a huge supply of extra virgin, organic coconut oil. It has definitely been a change from the cheap stuff that I have been getting because it has a more coconut-y  aroma and flavor. It has taken some getting used to, but it is heavenly. I may have to get a membership to Costco to get some more, because I haven’t seen anything like that at Sam’s.

One of the reasons why I bring up the coconut oil is because it is a key element of this recipe. If you are using the cheap stuff, then you have nothing to worry about. Usually mushroom cream sauce is made with butter and heavy cream, and I have made it many, many times. My fiance loves the stuff. I thought I was out of luck until a lightbulb went off in my head this past week and I realized that I could use coconut oil and coconut milk. However, since I am using really good coconut oil, the mushroom cream sauce comes out tasting a little coconut-y. Not a problem for me, the coconut freak. But some people may be turned off by it. So keep that in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind: I do not know how long to tell you to cook the sauce. When cooking it, the oil and milk will start to meld, and then it will condense and get a little thicker. Beyond that point, the oil and the milk begin to separate again and it actually starts to look quite nasty. I have kind of figured out where that line is, but I can’t give you a set amount of time before that happens. I had to learn about that as I went.

Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce

4 or 6 chicken breasts

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup coconut milk

 

Melt the coconut oil over medium heat and then cook the chicken breasts in the oil until they are tender and there is no longer any pink. Make sure you turn them occasionally so that they will brown on both sides.

When the chicken is done cooking, take them out of the pan and add the mushrooms to the remaining oil. Cook and stir them for a few minutes (the longer you cook them, the more mushroom flavor your sauce will have). After the mushrooms are soft, stir in the coconut milk and boil, stirring to mix the brown bits off of the bottom of the skillet. Boil for about three minutes, until thickened. Spoon (or pour!) the sauce and mushrooms over the chicken and enjoy!

One Year Later

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Wow, it has been a REALLY long time since I have posted! I must apologize to my two loyal readers out there, and say that the only excuse that I have is that I have been extremely busy trying to start my own business. Now don’t go getting all excited – the business is related to education, not nutrition. I have been having a ball putting it together, but I have been busier than I have ever been in my entire life.

In passing earlier this week I realized that it has now been a year since I switched to the Paleo lifestyle, so I figured that I’d take a break from my hectic schedule to post a reflection piece about the past year. I mean, I have learned so much about  myself in this past year. I have dealt with a lot of stress, a lot of highs, and a lot of lows, and my lifestyle change stayed intact through it all. I have lived the benefits of added energy, great sleep, and a genuine feeling that I can accomplish anything because I have done this. My focus is such that I can’t physically keep up with all of the ideas that my brain has thought up related to my new business, and I can tell when I have eaten something that I shouldn’t have because that focus disappears entirely. I have learned to plan ahead with my meals, and I have learned more about cooking and spices than I ever thought I would. I have tried new foods and made up recipes on the fly. I have learned about my body and what foods affect my moods, my wellness, and my sanity. I have learned what it takes to keep myself in my own optimal zone. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of cooking, but it is well worth it in order to feel healthy and have the focus and energy that I need to do my job.

One thing that I recognized early about this lifestyle change was how much I actually enjoy it. I never thought that it was possible to enjoy a “diet” (as my friends still call it). I never really feel like I am dieting at all because the food is so good and I feel awesome. I am never hungry throughout the day. I have never been able to say that about any other diet that I have tried.

Throughout this year I have tried (without being too forceful about it) to convince others that my lifestyle choice is healthier and well worth the effort of cutting out breads, pastas, and grains, but when people hear you tell them what they are giving up, they go into preservation mode and violently hold on to these things with every last ounce of their being. I have heard it all when it comes to why people won’t give up these items, and I have tried to refute them all. I have tried to help friends with diabetes understand exactly what is killing them and why. It seems as though no one wants to hear it. But then I remember that in the end, the only person that I can really affect change in is myself because that is the only person that I have control of. Everyone around me has seen the changes in me in the past year, but if they refuse to see what is right in front of them, then I can’t help them. I can only go on doing what has benefited me so greatly. Which I plan on doing.

A lot of people ask me how much weight I have lost in the past year, and I can honestly say that I don’t know. I know that I lost 50 pounds, but after I became comfortable with myself I stopped measuring any of that. I am glad that I lost the weight and I feel better because of it, but I am not stuck on the scale or even on my measurements. I haven’t pulled a measuring tape out in at least six months, and I stepped on the scale for the last time a few months ago. Those numbers seem so meaningless compared to the general feeling of wellness that I have, and that feeling is much more important to me than what a scale says. I have recently (within the last four or five months) tried to start exercising, but even that is more about feeling healthy and fit rather than about the scale and measurements. My job and the business are both high stress right now, and anything I can do to temper that stress and enhance my focus is a good thing.

What I wish people would carry away from my experience is that it really isn’t that hard to achieve a general feeling of wellness. Yes, it takes work. No, it isn’t always easy. When someone suggests that you should go out to eat and you know that there isn’t much of a chance that there will be items on the menu that you should eat, or you know that food additives affect certain aspects of your wellness, it is really hard to say no (especially if you are tired and really don’t want to cook). For me, the key has been remembering how I felt after the last time I ate those foods. Maintaining my focus and feeling of general wellness has been the biggest motivator throughout this process, because I get so much more accomplished when my focus and wellness are intact. And whether I hurt someone’s feelings or not, I have learned that it is better to say no in order to keep myself feeling well and focused than to say yes and kick myself for eating something that results in two weeks of feeling tired and unfocused. When you are doing something that is important to you, you don’t have two weeks to waste simply because of convenience or a moment of weakness.

I guess what I am trying to say is, it has been a great year, and I am looking forward to several more!

Country Style Pork Ribs with Sugar Free Barbecue Rub

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I have to admit: I love barbecue. It is something that I have sorely missed since going Paleo. I am in the process of finding a good barbecue sauce recipe for my teenager because she simply adores barbecue sauce. I had my fiance take me to get barbecue over the weekend because he knew of a restaurant that served barbecue without the sauce all over it, and I was really craving barbecue. Pretty much any sauce out there has sugar in it, which makes it off limits for me.

I found this recipe for a sugar free barbecue rub and decided to try it. I found that the rub has way too much salt! I used to use Emeril’s rib rub and used it very liberally on ribs. So the first time I used the barbecue rub I used it just as liberally as I always used the Emeril’s. I almost ruined the chicken that I tried the rub on.

So I decided to modify the recipe for the ribs, because if there is one thing I don’t want, it is ruined ribs. I had used about half of the rub that I had made, and I added the ingredients for another batch, minus the salt. The results were so phenomenal that I decided to share it with everyone.

Country Style Pork Ribs with Barbecue Rub

The rub:

4 tbsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

Coat the pork ribs in olive oil and apply the barbecue rub liberally over the ribs. Let the ribs sit in the rub with the oil in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, put the ribs in a metal baking dish, and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for two hours – and then enjoy!

A Frustrated Rant

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I am frustrated this morning. Mad, really.

Let me back up and give you some context. Hopefully you will then understand my frustration and be mad with me.

Last weekend my fiance, his mom, and I went to Sam’s Club to shop for groceries for a few weeks. We bought a lot of meat because there are a lot of people in this house, so we go through meat rather quickly. Especially now that half of us in the house can really only eat meat and veggies. None of us had been to Sam’s in quite a while, so we spent three hours going through the majority of the store, trying to figure out what we could save money on if it were purchased there rather than somewhere else. When we went through the freezer section, we saw some bags of frozen Tyson chicken that looked pretty convenient. The price didn’t seem too bad, either. The chicken has been so convenient that the bag is already empty. I had my first piece of it last night. I only ate one piece that my sister-in-law had grilled, with some zucchini and onions that I sauteed. And after I ate dinner I promptly passed out for four hours. When I woke up, I felt groggy and unfocused, and I had a hard time going back to sleep.

There is only one substance on the face of the planet that does that to me. This substance is found in pizza and pancakes, and this effect of those food products was one of the main reasons why I wanted to stop eating them.

I looked at the bag to try to figure out the mystery of my sudden need for sleep. The results are somewhat inconclusive, but the bag states that the chicken is flavored with chicken broth. The bag also does not say what the ingredients of the chicken broth are.

I have no proof that the chicken is what caused me to need sleep like nobody’s business. But I do know by the nature and quality of the sleep, the kind of dreams that I had, and the way that I felt when I woke up that there was something wrong with something that I ate. This is where a lot of people around me think that I am crazy and pick on me mercilessly, but when you cut so much crap out of your diet, you are much more aware and sensitive to the effects of that crap when it manages to sneak it’s way back in. All I have to go on in this case is a bag of frozen chicken, because it is the only food aspect of my entire day that I did not have complete control over.

While it is sad that I can’t even trust a bag of frozen chicken when it comes to this diet, I also should have known better. I was looking for convenience; what I found instead was that there is a price for convenience. No one said that this diet is convenient; I work hard every weekend to make sure that I have smart choices throughout the week, as well as variety in those choices. I cook everything. I make sure that everything I eat is as natural as I can afford for it to be. But we have come to a place in society where everyone places convenience over their health, which is what leads companies to put out products that are unhealthy and are ultimately killing us. What makes it extremely sad to me is that I look at a label of frozen chicken, assume by the label that it is fine, but ultimately pay a price for eating it. That price was time away from my kids and household responsibilities because I was so zonked out that I couldn’t even try to get out of bed when my daughter came in to tell me that she needed a fork, which she needed because dishes needed to be washed and I couldn’t do it – because I was so zonked. And it is too early to tell, but I am sure that I will spend the weekend feeling sub-par as well, until whatever nasty culprit that I consumed makes its way through my system.

But in the end, I learned a valuable lesson: convenience is not worth the price you pay. Next time, I will be sticking to the same old chicken that I always cook and has proven to not knock me out like a prize-fighter would.