I’m going to talk about this paleo/primal thing for a minute. Feel free to skip to food pictures.

Short update: I love it. I eat so many eggs I’m afraid I might turn into a chicken. I’ve lost 5 pounds, eat real butter and real cream, and am shocked at how little I miss most of my old diet.

Long update, in bullet point form because I keep thinking of things to add:

1. I am not technically following a Paleo diet because I still eat cheese. It’s closer to the Primal Blueprint diet, but I’m not sure I’m even doing that correctly. I don’t actually care very much about whether or not a caveman would have eaten it – I care whether or not it’s going to give me a migraine or make me feel like I’m dying (both things that happen now if I eat the wrong stuff). Being sort of lax with the rules mean I’m not getting all that magical fat-melting the interwebs seemed to promise, but it also means I don’t want to jump off a bridge.

2. Once I got through a few days carb/added sugar/Diet Coke-free my cravings for said things dropped off the map almost entirely. It’s like all the willpower I’ve lacked my entire life just SHOWED UP. Oh hey, Willpower, nice to see you. I could have used you back when my pregnancy cravings had me eating McDonald’s fries twice a day but whatever. I’m really glad the desire is gone because I am NOT making the whole family stick to my diet. Caroline basically does it on her own – she’d rather have eggs for breakfast than cereal – but Evan would starve without carbs. Thanks to my new willpower when I bought the kids special treat donuts after the Fresh Beat Band concert, I managed to bring one home, look at it for a while, then leave it for E to eat. I NEVER could have done that before.

3. I’ve thrown out all the rules about breakfast, lunch and dinner. Steak at 10 am, eggs and bacon for dinner, and eating any time I feel hungry is the new plan. Since I can’t count on easy, instant food I also do a lot more cooking (and dishes) and eat a lot more leftovers. Also, eggs. All the time.

4. I sometimes get this weird burning in my nose, like I accidentally inhaled water. I have NO idea if my new diet is to blame but it happens 3-4 times a day and it’s something that has never happened to me before (unless I really did get water up my nose). Dr. Google seems to think it’s an unrelated sinus infection, but I swear I’m not sick and haven’t been for a while. It might be my face rebelling against my diet (although my skin and hair seems to like it.)

5. My exercise schedule has been pretty sad (or non-existent) since E’s schedule changed back in August. I stopped running and haven’t been going to Stroller Strides. Now that I’ve seen a little success with the diet change I’m more motivated to see if I can amp it up with some workouts. I think it would make a big difference in my shape/jeans size.

6. I’m going to stick with it. It’s not so much that it’s some sort of magical cure-all weight-loss miracle plan, but just that I like it. I like drinking my coffee with real cream and I like putting steak on top of my lunch salad and I like eating eggs – all things I WASN’T doing before because I thought I needed to eat low fat to lose (or even maintain) my weight. This is better.

7. Still no plans to turn this into a blog about paleo/primal stuff, but if you want to talk about it I’m more than happy to on email or Facebook. Thank you to people who emailed me suggestions and recipes and blogs to follow – it’s been SUPER helpful!

8. Who can tell me where to get coconut flour? Don’t say Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods – we don’t have those.

So, to answer the title question, here’s what’s for dinner (complete with a lot of Google-fu to find the recipes):

1. Thai-Inspired Scallop Soup – The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (I KNOW I found this recipe online somewhere but can’t re-find it. It was totally amazing, so I might remake it and blog it)
2. Turkish Eggs – Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals (basic recipe can also be found here)
3. Smoked Salmon, Egg and Asparagus Roll-ups – Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals (just what it sounds/looks like)
4. Bison Chili – The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (just basic chili, no beans)

5. Artichoke & Green Olive Dip – Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals (almost the same as this one)
6. Nut Crackers – The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (This one IS online – recipe #2 here.)
7. Deep Dish Pizza Casserole – A Girl Worth Saving
8. Meat sauce over roasted eggplant – I made spaghetti for everyone else and just threw some eggplant in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. It was better than noodles.

9. Coconut Almond Coleslaw – The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (I was most meh about this one)
10. Bacon & Mushroom Dip – Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals (online here)
11. Zucchini Carbonara – Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals (someone blogged it here)
12. Chicken & Artichokes With Garlic Sauce – Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals (REALLY good, really easy, I’ve made it twice. There’s a version online here, but I used anchovies instead of fish sauce.)

I’ve also eaten a lot of broccoli made with this recipe I found on the Girl’s Gone Child blog and successfully replaced rice with grated cauliflower in both fried rice and jambalaya. Plus eggs. Did I mention eggs yet?

(Links in this post are not sponsored or affiliate links, just stuff I’ve read or bought on my own.)

P.S. ALSO, I made Jalapeno Popper Quiche last night (minus the crust) and it was SO FREAKING GOOD I didn’t even take time to eat a picture before E and I ate it all.

Baby Evan is almost 11 months old and still does not eat anything. I’m getting to the point where – although what my obviously happy, healthy kid eats is NONE OF THEIR DAMN BUSINESS – people have started giving me funny looks when I turn down children’s menus and offers to “just let him try a little bit.” (Actual conversation with E’s boss at Christmas party – Boss: Oh, we didn’t plan any food for the baby. E: That’s ok, we brought food. Boss: What, like a bottle or something? E: …Or something.) It’s hard to explain to strangers that although Baby Evan will literally run across a room to grab the food from your hand, it’s gonna come right back out as soon as it hits his tongue.  All of my pockets are full of mushed up pieces of Cheerio the baby spit out and I had to pick up because I am not a jerk who leaves drooly bits of cereal all over the play area/pediatrician’s office/Target/your shirt. I’m also afraid people are starting to suspect I’m doing this on purpose, like some sort of extended breastfeeding Nazi who won’t let her kid eat any solid foods because I think BREAST IS SO MUCH THE BEST that everything else is unnecessary. “Anything?” people ask when I tell them he doesn’t eat, “Really? Have you tried Cheerios? My kid loves Cheerios. How about apple slices/Popsicles/mac and cheese/chicken nuggets/a whole turkey leg?” No, I say, not anything. But thanks.

I did talk to a nutritionist (also known as my friend Megan’s mom) about Baby Evan’s strange dietary habits and she assured me we were still well within the realm of normal child behavior.  She had plenty of stories of kids – her own included – who didn’t eat anything until 14, 15, 16 months. After looking over the list of foods that have gone over pretty well versus the list of total failures, we decided it was a texture things as well as an independence thing. Mushy food on a spoon is AWFUL. Crunchy things or anything he could potentially choke on are OK. Things he can chew with his many sharp little teeth are best. My plan of action is to just keep offering food – some food, any food, all food – until we find something that he’ll swallow, and work on “balanced and nutritionally sound” later.

Foods he hates even more than I hate Katy Perry
Oatmeal
Rice cereal
Baby food
Applesauce
Things eaten with a spoon
Pureed anything

Foods he almost ate once
Bacon
Avocado
Mango
Celery sticks
Carrot sticks
Banana nut Cheerios
Peas from some sort of Gerber baby stew meal
Yogurt
Grapes
Salmon
Hummus
Soybeans in their pods
Pasta

Foods almost worth feeding
Puffs
Teething biscuits
French fries
Conversation hearts Valentine candy

Foods he eats enough of to provide nutrition
None

Thanks God I got the hang of this breastfeeding thing. Hey at least it’s cheap, easy and always available.