Lunch is Served, Ma'dam...

(In an old English butler tone) Lunch is served, ma'dam...

If only I had someone to make my meals. Sure it's easy for the celebrities to eat healthy, they have the funds to pay someone else to do it. Hell, they usually pay someone else to watch their children! I don't have the funds and it does take time. But the real myth buster? It's cheaper to eat at home. I have to go grocery shopping more often but I'm spending less. Why? Because I'm buying foods that are less processed too. Think about it...the more people (distribution), and the more processing (equipment), that touches your food, not only makes it more expensive, it takes the good bits out that your body needs. That's not to say that I don't eat anything processed. Otherwise, I couldn't have cottage cheese :). Here is today's lunch:

Strawberry and Cottage Cheese Salad

Approx 1 C Organic Baby Spring Mix (45g) cal 10

1/2 C Land O Lakes cottage cheese 113g cal 90

5-6 Strawberries 140g cal 45

2 Tbs Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (31g) cal 30

Spring mix in bottom of a nice size pasta bowl. Scoop cottage cheese in middle. Chop strawberries. Drizzle with dressing. 

Serves 1

Cal 175

protein 14

carbs 22

fiber 4

fat 4

sugar 15

Refreshing!

Are you one of the people that like those flavored water packets? Crystal Light on the go? How about Paleo friendly flavored water? 

2 quarts cold water

1/2 lemon thinly sliced

4-6 basil leaves

I have the Rubbermaid Servin' Saver Mixing Pitcher here. Put the water in, put the top on, and throw the lemons and basil on top. Plunge away! (note: if you put the lemon and basil in first the plunger can't sit on the bottom of the container.)

Lemon $.50

Basil plant $2.39

Fruit Smoothie!

As I mentioned previously, juicing ain't for me. But I do love me fruit and me imitation bullet blender here (insert sarcastic British voice here). So for a quick breakfast, I put in a cup the night before 1/2 strawberries and 1/2 pineapple. In the morning I add about 1/2 C organic soy milk (almond, coconut, or whatever would be awesome too). The smoothie needs a liquid to blend it all up. For a little sweetener, I added a squeeze of honey. It lasts me until lunch. Yum-O!

One thing I'd like to demystify is that eating Paleo, or healthy in general,  is expensive. We pay for convenience. So if you want to save money, you really should prepare more of your own meals. These are my costs in Midwest, USA.

Strawberries 1lb = $1.67
Pineapple whole = $1.99
Organic Soymilk 32 oz = $1.00 (yeah, I found it at the dollar store!)

I'm estimating there are 3 smoothies worth in a pound of strawberries and pineapple. Soymilk has 8 smoothie servings.

Strawberries = $.56
Pineapple = $.67
Soymilk = $.13
Honey = $.10 (est)
Total = $1.46

Green Bits and Guac Vessels

So I can't handle juicing. Blah! But the Paleo I can! Yay! 

Need a dip for your vegetables? How about guacamole? Without even changing anything from a regular recipe, you can eat guacamole. 

2 avocados

1 roma tomato

1/4 red onion

juice of 1 lime

sea salt or kosher salt

Finely chop all. Add juice and salt. Mash the green bits into the other bits. Helps it stick to the guacamole vessel better. And because we all like to eat crunchy things, celery sticks make great guac vessels!

If you are lucky, the guac will last longer than a day and you can take it to lunch the next day...*hint, hint* BB

Also for dinner were these AMAZE-BALLS chicken burgers from PaleOMG blog. As usual, I did a little tweaking. Mostly because I didn't have all the ingredients. Like ground chicken. So I googled it and made my own with, wait for it...a food processor! No way, you say! Way, I say! I also added another garlic clove and Italian Herb Seasoning to replace the parsley, thyme, and basil.