Day 7...One Week complete!

I made it a week!!!  One week free of wheat, grains, sugar, dairy, and alcohol!!  :)  I am feeling fine...nothing out of ordinary to note, except that I don't feel foggy or sluggish anymore!  I don't really have any cravings...just thoughts of how I would like to have some rice, cheese and alcohol.  lol  

Went grocery shopping today and stocked up on meats and vegetables.  For lunch I had some of the sausage and kale soup, and about 2 oz leftover pork tenderloin.  I made a new recipe for dinner- creamy chicken stew, and it was very good!!  Made some mashed cauliflower to pour it over,  which made for a very satisfying dinner.  :)   Here is the recipe, try it out!

Quick and creamy chicken stew

• One 4lbs roasting chicken (I used 2lbs of Tyson chicken breast)
• ½ cup of clarified butter, butter or other paleo fat;
• 2 onions, chopped;
• 4 cloves garlic, minced;
• 1/4 cup cassava, almond or coconut flour, or any other paleo flour (this is optional, as its only purpose is to thicken the stew);
• 2 cups of homemade chicken broth or stock (you may decide to add more if you find the stew too thick);
• 2 carrots, chopped;
• 2 celery stalks, chopped;
• 5-6 white button mushrooms, sliced or whole;
• ½ cup full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream;
• 2 green onions, sliced;
• ¾ cup of fresh or frozen green peas;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

1. Cut the roasting chicken into pieces. Divide it into two thighs, two drums, two wings and two breasts.
2. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, melt the cooking fat. Once melted, add in the chicken pieces and cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove the chicken and put aside until later.
3. Add the onions to the same saucepan and cook in the remaining juices. Once they have sauteed and begun to brown, add the garlic and cook for a few minutes together.
4. If you wish to add a thickening paleo flour, do so now.
5. Whisk in the chicken broth. At this point you will be able to tell if the stew is too thick. If so, feel free to add more broth or stock, or even just water. Do so slowly while continuing to mix.
6. Add in the vegetables and chicken, along with any juices from where the chicken was resting.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Allow the stew to come to a simmer, and then cook on low, but still maintain the simmer.
9. Cover and cook for approximately 30 minutes.
10. Stir in the cream or coconut milk, green onions and peas.
11. Cook for just about another 2 minutes and serve.

So things are going well.  It's actually pretty easy to eat clean if you have food prepared/ready to eat.  I've been using fruits as my "sweets", which is working out nicely.  This week I'll eat blueberries, banana chips and grapefruit.

I've got my steak strips cut and salad ready to go for lunch at work tomorrow...then on Tuesday, when I have some free time I'm going to make more hardboiled eggs, and make meatballs!  Will have the meatballs with a lower sugar marinara sauce that I found at Kroger, on top of spaghetti squash.  Oh yeah, I found low-sugar ketchup!  It'll work for now.

~Tina