So, today was my first Primal(ish) day, and it didn’t go too badly. I think I need to eat more, though — I’m pretty hungry still.
For lunch I made a spaghetti squash and ate that with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese, which was pretty damn good. No one is going to mistake it for pasta, but with the sauce and cheese, it gets you in the neighborhood, for sure.
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| Imagine this with purple cabbage |
Dinner was a very easy and very surprisingly good sausage and cabbage casserole. Found it in my Primal Blueprint cookbook and made it mostly because it was incredibly easy and figured it wouldn’t be too expensive an experiment. I bought a purple cabbage and some Cook’s Test Kitchen recommended turkey kielbasa and pretty much all you do it cut up all of it, put in the cabbage in, the sausage on top, put a few tablespoons of water in and then drizzle with olive oil. Stick in the oven. DONE. And really, really good. I didn’t anticipate liking this … or at least I didn’t anticipate liking it this much. This recipe will become a staple, I think.
Yesterday I alluded to other reasons why I wanted to try going Primal(ish) — in the past few months, my finger joints have been very sore. I’m guessing arthritis — it runs in the family — but I started wondering if something in my diet (grains, specifically) were causing inflammation that might be exacerbating the condition. And when my thumb joint joined the party with being swollen as well, I decided I needed to do something to try and help myself. It might not work, but it can’t hurt, ya know?
Also – I thrive when I’m on a plan. It’s why I’m good at counting calories — that keeps me accountable and structured. Of course, I always get to a point where I don’t want to count calories anymore… so I don’t… and then I gain the weight back. Primal(ish) will be different in the sense that if it works, then all I’ve done is changed what I eat and to keep it going, I just need to keep doing the same thing. There’s no inconvenience to it (like counting calories).
I’m curious how this will go. I always feel so much better about myself when I’m following a plan (and sticking to the plan, of course). I’m going to try and make sure I get carbs into my diet — Lean Eating would call them “smart carbs” — like sweet potatoes, beans, and even some grains like steel cut oats or quinoa. I feel better when I have them in my diet, for sure. Vegetables and lean meats just leave me hungry.
There you have it. It’ll be tough with the holidays coming up (and honestly, I won’t be complaint on Thanksgiving, I can guarantee you that), but this will be good for me. And not only in an “it builds character” kind of way.
