30 Day Challenge, Day 1 (Launching the experiment)

Goodbye, beloved homemade granola.  You are banished to the deep freezer for the next 30 days.

So what is Paleo, anyway?  Basically it's this:  meat and seafood, vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruit.  No sugar, no grains, no legumes, little starch.

You know, I'm really impressed with Ballerina.  She stands up to accusers ("but that diet isn't healthy!") and tempters ("come on, have a slice of pizza...you knoooowwww you waaaaannnt iiiiiit...") and doesn't cave in.  Peer pressure, you have met your match.

Are we dealing with a food allergy?  Diabetes?  Hypoglycemia?  I honestly don't know.  But if we can head off those problems with eating smarter, why not start now?  And why, oh why, do others need a doctor's diagnosis before they will respect these unusual dietary choices?  Mind your own business, I say.  I'm just trying to find the best way to help my daughter be healthy and live her dreams.

So, here's the breakdown of today's meals:

Meal #1
omelet (eggs, onion, spinach) and blueberries

Meal #2
turkey-veg burgers, wrapped in lettuce, with avocado and grape tomatoes

Meal #3
Celery sticks, almonds, dried apricots

Meal #4
Stir fried chicken and veggies, paleo strawberry tarts

Meal #5
Strawberries, blueberries, almonds, coconut milk

Day 1 was the birthday for my youngest daughter.  She insisted on strawberry tarts, so I made two kinds...the traditional way with a flaky refined wheat flour and butter crust...but how to make a tart Paleo-friendly?  I threw a handful of almonds in the blender, with a pinch of dried dates, and pulsed them until they were crumbly.  Then I cut in a very small bit of coconut oil and pressed a bit of the mixture into a dozen tiny muffin cup liners, then baked it for about 8 minutes.  At dinner time, we topped those babies with naked chopped fresh strawberries.  Even the non-Paleo girls in the family decided they were absolutely delicious.