It’s time to put the food log to bed. I originally planned it for two weeks, but I was learning from it myself, so I decided to continue it for the full month. It’s interesting that some things do not become obvious until they are laid out in front of our faces… Here are a few things that jumped out at me:

1) I eat a lot of chicken. Perhaps taking a week or two off here and there is in order.

2) I eat way more Mexican/Hispanic influenced meals than I realized! Nothing wrong with this - I don’t do the beans, rice, corn, flour, sour cream, etc. Just an observation. I’m almost a full blooded Swede, so possibly I am trying to get as far away from my bland dietary heritage as possible! (It probably helps to have a Hispanic wife, also)

3) If it weren’t for dark beer, my cheats would be almost nil…. I actually thought I had more cheats than I apparently do. (After thinking about this for a while: I tend to have a light cheat - say a beer and dash of mashed potatoes - then I think later “it was a cheat weekend”. The reality is that 1/4 of one meal was not Paleo..)

4) I do consume a lot of nightshades, at least at this time of year. I have done total elimination periods before, followed by reintroduction - with no noticeable ill effects. I need to look further into the research here….

I have kept a detailed training log for years, and I log every mealtime and general notes about the food - but not the actual meals. To do so in this blog was enlightening. Try logging your food for a month in a log book - you might be surprised at what you find.

Hopefully, this will also provide a good, useful example of how a Paleo/low carb/intermittent fasting eating plan works in the real world. Very few of these foods took long to cook. Often on the run, I was forced to make do with what I could find at a store. A four day trip out of town is also included - an area where many run into trouble. It really is not difficult to eat this way!

Day 30, Tue Oct 23rd

1:00 pm- (23 hr fast) 6.5 oz mahi mahi, habanero spice coleslaw, 1/2 cup of sweet potato pie. Fish oil.

3:45 pm- 2.5 oz mixed nuts

5:00 pm- Spent 15 minutes whipping up the following: Saute onion, garlic, and ginger in 1 Tbsp coconut oil. Add 1 lb beef for stew, brown. Add one bunch of chopped red chard (stems and leaves), 1 can watercress, 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, one chopped celery stalk, 2 Tbsp wheat free Tamari soy sauce, and a pinch of dulse. Cover and cook 10′. I ate it all, with a small glass of water. A bit of extra olive oil, fish oil, and digestive enzymes.

Day 29, Mon Oct 22nd

8:45 am- (almost 15 hrs fast) Quick chicken apple hash. A small coconut milk shake: coconut milk, kale stems, cocoa.

12:20 pm- Italian style Paleo meatloaf, with chili herb baked yams, and a generous amount of steamed cauliflower. Digestive enzymes and fish oil.

2:00 pm- Tuna salad w/avocado, pickles, mayo, olive oil, and steamed cauliflower. Celery stalk w/cashew butter and a very light amount of homemade plum jelly.

Day 28, Sun Oct 21st

9:45 am- A veggie hash. Here is the recipe: Saute some diced onion in a bit of olive or coconut oil. After a few minutes, add chopped cauliflower, chili powder, and a few red pepper flakes. Add the diced sausages, cook covered for about 5 minutes until the cauliflower has softened some - not too much, though. You still want it to be partly crisp. Enjoy. Play around with this one. The seasonings and meat can be interchanged in many ways.

1:15 pm- Several ounces of Brazil nuts, plus some leftover pork from last night.

2:45 pm- At a Muchas Gracias (again) - the remainder of the intended meal. Abobada plate - no beans, rice, or tortilla. Water.

5:45 pm- A stir fry of shrimp, sausage, spaghetti squash, and sweet peppers. Macadamia nut butter, fish oil.

Day 27, Sat Oct 20th

10:30 am- (20 hrs fast) Machacca scramble, olive oil, Brazil nuts. Light breakfast after training.

3:15 pm- More pork abobada over cabbage with onion, cillantro, and olive oil. This one will be featured in my next edition of “Cooking for Health and Performance” out later this year. Digestive enzymes and fish oil.

7 pm- Met Rochelle for a night out. We ate at Gustav’s German restaurant, a favorite. A stein of Optimator and sausage sampler to start, then for dinner a quarter chicken w/sauteed veggies (zucchini) in place of potatoes. Delicious.

Day 26 Fri Oct 19th

8:55 am - (only 14 ish hrs fasting) Can of sardines, 1/3 lb roasted brussels sprouts, 1.5 oz Brazil nuts. Fish oil.

12:15 pm - post workout - 1 block berries w/BCAA (20g), sweet potato “pie”

1:40 pm - Pork abobada over shredded cabbage(11 blocks P) w/olive oil, avocado, digestive enzymes, fish oil.

3:10 pm- I finished the above meal. Didn’t have time to eat it before the next client.

Food about average - 17 P, 7 C, 120 g fat

Day 25, Thur Oct. 18th

7:50 am - (15.5 hr fast) Coconut milk shake w/ BCAA, few berries, chopped kale stalks, olive oil.

12:20 pm - Ground lamb curry with spinach, garlic, coconut milk.  This one is easy - any ground meat will work.  Put a bit of olive oil in your pan, saute the garlic for 1′, add 1 Tbsp curry powder.  Next, brown the meat.  Add lots of spinach and around 1/2 can of coconut milk - cook until the spinach has wilted.  That’s it!  Easy and filling.  I had a stalk of celery and a few Brazil nuts, too.  Fish oil and digestive enzymes.

3:20 pm- Can of sardines, 1/3 lb braised greens, 2.5 oz almonds

4:45 pm - Sweet potato “pie”.

6:00 pm- Roast beef strips stir fried with onions, tomatoes, and steamed broccoli.  Fish oil and digestive enzymes.

It’s a rest day today, so I ate extra food.  23 blocks protein, 11 blocks carb, 220g fat.

Day 24, Wed. Oct 17th

9:45 am - (15ish hr fast) Beef strips sauteed with tomatoes and cabbage w/seasonings.

1:20 pm - Small chicken breast, lots of braised greens w/cherry vinaigrette from the New Seasons deli. A good visit with P Menu regular Derrick from Florida.

4:30 pm - Hubbard squash wedges, spinach, cucumber, sweet peppers and salmon salad. A few Brazil nuts. Just throwing stuff together, really.

Eating light today, will make up for it tomorrow on the rest day.

Day 23, Oct 16th

2:00 pm - (22 hr fast) Sweet potato pie, 15 g BCAA, beef strips stir fried with chillies, tomato, thyme, oregano on a bed of oven roasted green beans. I got home to find this delicious meal waiting for me!

4:00 pm - A simple, quick feast. 2/3 lb broccoli, steamed in a pressure cooker. (3 minutes of cook time - pressure cookers are great. I suggest looking into getting one as an essential component of a world class kitchen.) Stir fry 3/4 lb lean beef steak in olive oil with garlic, onion, and zucchini. Add the broccoli herbs de providence, and pepper. Remove beef and veggies, then cook down the remaining juices. I added a dash of arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce, then I poured the sauce over the meat and veggies. 1 Tbsp olive oil to add to the fat content - then I ate it all. Fish oil and digestive enzymes.

6:15 pm - Spaghetti squash ala carbonara, two servings. Celery with macadamia nut butter.

Day 22, Mon Oct 15th

9:30 am - Pork chops and applesauce.  10 blocks or so of meat.  A bit of sweet potato pie.

1:30 pm - post training.  Sweet potato pie (Paleo) - see next month’s Performance Menu.  Tuna and homemade pickles rolled into sliced turkey.  A small bit of leftover chicken ala diablo from yesterday’s lunch.

3:45 pm - Stir fry of turkey bacon, kale, and cabbage.  Olive oil, handful of almonds.  Stalk of celery.  Fish oil.