R4 P4 D16....

Sorry it has been awhile! Life has been keeping me busy :) The weight has been fluctuating between the 2 lbs and doing well. I weigh some days, and not others. Just trying to practice eating for the rest of my life and not taking it too seriously :) I have been out of the habit of exercising for so long now, I find myself not making time for it. So unlike me. I definitely need to get into a routine again. I have a few food finds to share with you.

The first is heaven in a jar :) This is sunflower seed butter, with added flax and hemp seed. This is sooooo good. It does not list sugar on the label, just organic vanilla powder. After one taste I immediately called the company because I knew there was some sort of sweetness in there!! They said their vanilla powder does have some sucrose, and they are changing the label. Even though there was not much, during P3 I was careful to have just a little at a time. It is amazing and most of the time eaten just off the spoon! I found it at Good Earth. It can also be found at Naturally Nutty. They have all sorts of flavored nut butters. My next one to try is White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter...... :)

Next up, makes life easier and delicious at the same time! This is from Costco. Nothing but the pork, salt and water. Heats up in seconds and can be used a million different ways. My favorite lately is pork tacos in romaine lettuce leaves.

For someone who LOVES anything coconut, I can't believe I have lived without this all my life. If the sunflower butter is heaven in a jar, this is heaven in a can. I use it in everything. Soups, sauces, puddings, over fruit, frosting etc. It thickens things up and makes them creamy. I don't really taste the coconut once it is mixed in something else. Only when I put it on fruit can I really taste the coconutty goodness :) For those in P3 looking for a decadent treat without the sugar and starch try this pudding.

1 pkg sugar free pudding of choice

1 cup of cream

1 cup coconut milk

I said decadent. You can also use 1 cup greek yogurt and 1/2 cup cream, and 1/2 cup coconut milk to add in some protein. Basically you are adding 2 cups of liquid to the pudding. If you want less fat then use 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup coconut milk. Just make sure to blend the pudding and the thinnest liquid first really well then add the others and blend completely so you don't get pudding mix chunks. Here was my latest. I used Banana Cream pudding, with the 2 cups split evenly between cream, coconut milk (can), coconut milk (box). Of course I had to sprinkle with unsweetened coconut and some sliced almonds and cinnamon :)

Healthy Snack Option!

I recently got some yummy snacks to review from: Paleo Women: Snacks and Granola's. They have 4 flavors of their granola. Banana Nut, Apple Crisp, Cacao Nut, and Cappuccino Crunch! They all were awesome. They are all natural with no additives or preservatives. Wheat and gluten free. Made from nuts, seeds, berries, fruit, spices and natural sweeteners. An excellent snack when you are on the go, or to toss with fruit or yogurt. I love snacks that you can feel good about eating, knowing you are eating real whole foods without any of the junk! Laura is the founder and was super sweet and helpful! So next time you are looking for a snack, don't forget to give them a try!

R3 LM D50......Caveman Cookies!

In all of my "paleolithic" endeavors, I came across these Caveman Cookies. They are made with almond flour and honey is the sweetener. There have only 5-7 ingredients and are all natural. They were kind enough to send some to review. They come in 2 flavors: traditional and tropical. They were both excellent! Very sweet and chewy. They come in bags of 6 or 12. The traditional reminded me of an oatmeal raisin, and the the tropical has macadamias and coconut which are my favorite! It is so hard to find a treat that is not filled with sugar, chemicals and preservatives. For those in maintenance, this is a very nice option :)

Original Cavemen Cookies are made with honey, almond flour, walnuts, raisins, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Tropical Cavemen Cookies are made with almond flour, honey, unsulfured coconut, macadamia nuts, and ginger.

To order go to: www.cavemancookies.com!!

Tasty tidbits when your in a hurry....

I try to be very good about not eating processed foods. But there are sometimes when you just need something fast.

Today at the gym I was dying and needed something to eat afterwards. I went to the cafe and got some very good things. So good, I just had to share. First I needed some quick protein so I tried Ostrim ostrich jerky. Pepper flavor. Yum! Each stick has 14 grams of protein and less than a gram of sugar! And only 80 calories for a pretty big stick! :)

I added a package of freeze dried berries. Very good and crunchy! Nothing in the ingredients but the fruit itself! 84 calories for the bag!

And of course I noticed the chocolate! There is a company called Sweetriot that makes these little dark chocolate cocao nibs and a square chocolate bar that has 4 large chunks in it. Both are AMAZING and made with 70% dark chocolate.

The chocolate bar has 180 cals with 11 grams of sugar. So each big chunk is only 45 calories with 2.75 grams of sugar.

The cocoa nibs are in a tin. The whole tin has 140 cals and 6 gms of sugar. Just eat a few nibs whenever you get that chocolate craving. YUM!

So that was my snack: jerky, freeze dried fruit, and a square of dark chocolate! All for 209 calories! Not too bad :)