Cartwheels and Pearls: Food

Tips for Eating Paleo in College

I'm not perfect at all but I've been in college for a little over a month now and I think I've figured out some good tricks to still enjoy college life and to feel good at the same time. I live in a dorm room so I have a tiny fridge and also have a meal plan so I eat at college dining halls. And also if you're not strictly paleo but still want to eat healthy, these tips are relevant too...

Keep healthy dry snacks in your room

My go to snacks are larabars, individual bags of larabara "renola" (grain-free granola), nuts, raisins, and apple sauces
Shop at discount stores like Big Lots and Ollie's for great deals on these products! And when the grocery store has a 10/$10 sale on lara bars, stock up (Kroger and Meijer tend to have these sales a lot!

Keep a bag of apples or individual baggies of veggies in your fridge for a quick grab and go snack

My parents and my roommates parents have taken turns sending us bags of apples from local orchards and it's been delicious and such a convenient morning snack!

Don't eat your "cheats" or sweets in the dining hall. It's not worth it. Go out and buy something gourmet on a special occasion!

Going out and buying delicious insomnia cookies to console your roommate over a break up is worth it.

Watch what you drink as well!

I only drink water, tea, and (watery) coffee in the dining halls and in my dorm room
I make sure I always have my water bottle with me so I can stay hydrated and not feel bleh while in class or studying
Use the same rule as for cheat foods- if you're going to have something that's not so paleo, make sure it's a special occasion (i.e. at a party or when you're out to dinner with your parents (and they're paying)).
It's ok to put water in a red solo cup if you don't feel like drinking something at a party that makes you feel not so great
Learn to like black coffee. It makes things a whole lot easier not having to worry about there being almond or coconut milk in the dining hall or having to pay an extra 60 cents at Starbucks

Ask your roommate to hide their junk food

My roommate keeps her food in a storage ottoman and I really appreciate that! I don't have to stare at all of it all the time and be tempted by it!
Going into someone else's room who has goldfish and oreos open on the table while you watch tv is a whole different story. Eat ahead of time.

Keep a sweet in your room that IS paleo

Sometimes you just need chocolate or something sweet. Especially during exam time.
Keep some paleo dark chocolate or some other non-perishable sweet in your room for those times so you'll eat something good instead of reaching for your roommate's gourmet caramel corn or homemade chocolate chip cookies that she keeps offering to you and feeling terrible about it afterwards
My favorite is Trader Joe's extra dark chocolate that comes in a 3 pack for around $1.25 or so ;)

Be prepared

Think ahead- you know that you'll be starving at 11:30am between classes and won't have time to make it to the dining hall for a real meal for a couple of hours. Bring an apple or a bar in your backpack so you can whip that out instead of being tempted by all the convenient and delicious looking bagels at the library cafe.

Don't be too hard on yourself

Life is trial and error.
So what if you slipped up because the nearest dining hall had zero paleo options for lunch that day and you didn't have time to trek the 1/2 mile to the next closest one.
You had to eat SOMETHING. Ideally you picked the best option you could but if your stomach isn't upset and you feel fine physically, just get over it and remember to check the menus online ahead of time next time!

12:16 PM
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How I Conquered My Sugar Dragon

Food

I am addicted to sugar. When I'm sad, I crave sugar. When I'm happy, I crave sugar. Heck, when I'm bored, I crave sugar. I love sugar.

photo credit

I have not perfectly conquered this sugar dragon that has a hold over me but here's how I made progress:

Throw it Out (Or hide it in the freezer). If I have a plate of cookies sitting on the counter, you bet I'm going to grab one mindlessly every time I walk by. If its hidden in the back of the freezer in a container, I have time to stop and think about what I'm doing as I am removing containers of frozen beef and ice packs and berries and who else knows what to get to the cookies.
Unfollow every single Pinterest board/ instagram account that regularly posts pictures of sweets and desserts. Yes every single one. This step may seem small or stupid but its just another way of removing the temptations! If you absolutely need a recipe or some inspiration, you can search for it. Feel free to replace all the unfollowed pages with healthy, inspirational accounts ;)
Learn to say no. Find it within yourself to straight up say no or just make up an excuse. Suggestions for not accepting a cookie someone offers you: I don't feel well, I'm allergic/ sensitive to ______ (ingredient), I'M TRYING TO LIMIT MY SUGAR INTAKE, I'm challenging myself to not eat sweets, I ate before I came, my doctor told me to avoid _____, ETC. You don't need to accept every sweet someone gives you to be nice!
Go Cold Turkey- Give yourself a challenge. I personally do best when I have rules to follow. When I simply tell myself that I'm lessening my sugar intake, I try reason with myself and end up cheating often. When I have a reason or a purpose to not have any sugar at all, I find it easier. A Whole30 or the 21 Day Sugar Detox are great ways to do this but even simply eliminating one sugary part of your day at a time is great. Start with no sugar in your coffee or not having a mid-morning sugary snack.
Give Yourself a Reward for going cold turkey- And by reward, I don't mean a food reward. Treat yourself after going x amount of days without sugar (or with limited sugar). Safe reward ideas could be taking a bath or buying yourself a new piece of clothing. Just do something you love to do that you don't normally get a chance to do. You deserve it if you can conquer that dragon!

1:27 PM
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Whole30 Days 1-10 Recap

Food

Days 1-10 were a lot easier this round than my first for several reasons:

I had company- my mom is joining me on this round so I have some support. My sister joined us for the first 6 days too!
I had already gone through this once so I knew it was survivable
I know how to cook better now... I admit for my first round I had no idea how to cook eggs because I never really liked them much before then
Very little temptations! Last round we had a party on my second day and it was SO hard to avoid all the temptations. This time we hid all the sweets in the freezer or threw them out.

I made a meal plan and actually didn't stick to it at all. I made it mostly for my mom's benefit for grocery shopping and cooking because she asked for it. Did she use it either? Nope. We just ate what we felt like or what happened to be on sale in the grocery store. It worked fine and I still have my meal plan to reference if ever uninspired.

Here's a bit of food inspiration for you!...

Day 1
Meal 1: eggs w/ spinach and broccoli hash and fresh cherries (I woke up at almost noon so I basically just skipped a meal this day) (NOTE: This is something I never do so this was a one time thing. Don't worry :))
Pre-Workout Snack: apple
Post-Workout Snack: Hardboiled egg w/ guac
Meal 2: Roasted carrots, potatoes, and brussel sprouts, peas, salmon, and leftover prime rib (with some caramelized onions on top)

Day 2
Meal 1: Chopped banana, spoonful of almond butter, whole almonds and then 2 hard boiled eggs chopped and mixed with some guac.
Meal 2: Steak salad with half a sweet potato
Snack: apple and almond butter
Meal 3: Apple Chicken sausage, sauerkraut, and some marinated veggies

Day 3
Meal 1: Pumpkin Egg Protein Bake with dried cranberries
Snack: raisins and almonds
Meal 2: Tuna w/ homemade mayo, celery, and a bunch of yellow tomatoes and a banana
Meal 3: Spaghetti squash and homemade spaghetti squash

Day 4
Meal 1: 2 eggs w/ spinach and half an orange
Meal 2: Sauerkraut, half a chicken and apple sausage, spaghetti squash and spaghetti sauce
Snack: apple and almond butter
Meal 3: Half beef/ half venison hamburger, lettuce, tomato, homemade guac and sweet potato chips

Day 5
Meal 1: Green smoothie ( I don't like drinking smoothies as a breakfast but there was spinach that was going bad) and hardboiled egg w/ guac
Snack: dried cherries
Meal 2: Eggs scrambled w/ chorizo, cactus, and spinach, tomatoes, and half an orange
Snack: apple and almond butter
Meal 3: Chicken, roasted pepper, roasted butternut squash and broccoli and toasted pine nuts

Day 6
Meal 1: Pumpkin Egg protein bake w/ walnuts and dried cherries
Snack: dried cranberries w/ almonds
Meal 2: (no pic) leftover salad, hard boiled egg, and apple
Snack: baked potato and spaghetti sauce
Meal 3: homemade beef stew

Day 7
Meal 1: 2 eggs, sweet potato hash, chorizo
Snack: fresh cherries
Meal 2: (no picture) leftover sauerkraut, chicken apple sausage, and pineapple
Snack: hard boiled egg and apple sauce
Meal 3: Beanless Venison chili and carrot sticks

Day 8
Meal 1: 2 eggs w/ broccoli slaw
Snack: carrots
Meal 2: Salad w/ chicken and walnuts
Snack: raisins, almonds, and apple sauce
Meal 3: Salmon and cauliflower and broccoli

Day 9

Meal 1: Pumpkin egg protein bake w/ dried cranberries and walnuts

Snack: carrots

Meal 2: Chicken and marinated veggies

Snack: apple sauce and a hard boiled egg

Meal 3: Homemade chicken "noodle" soup (broccoli slaw instead of noodles)

Day 10

Meal 1: 2 eggs scrambled w/ broccoli hash

Meal 2: Hardboiled eggs, apple w/ almond butter, carrots, and raisins and almonds mix

Meal 3: Pork loin, sweet potato fries, homemade guac, butternut squash, and beets

Happy Whole30ing y'all!

5:14 PM
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Whole30 Meal Plan

Food

12:09 PM
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My Whole30 Recap

Food

4:48 PM
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Chocolate Dipped Orange Cookies

Food

Chocolate and orange just go together so well. I can't really describe why but they just do! Okay chocolate really just goes with everything but still.

The texture of these cookies isn't super crisp but isn't super soft either, it's in between and I love it. They're not super sweet so they won't upset your stomach like some other cookies do. Due to their interesting flavor, kids probably won't be a fan of them but there is nothing wrong with an adult's only cookie.

My family actually ate all the other cookies before I could get some pictures of them. I was only left with two for my little photoshoot here!

Yield: Makes 9 large cookies (Double the batch for a bigger yield
Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or for GF's like me, GF flour ;))
2 Tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp of baking powder
1/2 stick of butter (about 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar (or to us non professionals, powdered sugar)
1 large egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tb orange liqueur OR 2 tbs orange zest
a splash of orange juice
3 ounces or so of chocolate chips or melting chocolate
Optional: orange food coloring (or 1 drop of red and 14 drops of yellow)

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. If you're using unsalted butter, also add a pinch of salt.

3. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the confectioners sugar until it's fluffy. Beat in the yolk, orange flavoring of choice, vanilla, and orange juice. Stir in the dry mixture and mix well. If the dough is a bit too moist, add a tablespoon or so of flour to it. Add food coloring if you'd like.

4. Spoon small balls of dough onto a well greased baking sheet. The dough will be very soft so space the balls out very well because they'll spread.

5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they're golden brown. Place them on a baking rack or brown paper bag to cool. Melt the chocolate after the cookies get out of the oven according to the directions on the wrapper. I'm not very good at melting chocolate so I'm probably the last person to ask for advice on this step.

6. Once the cookies are cooled, either dip an end of each cookie into the chocolate or spoon on a bit of chocolate and spread it around.

NOTES:

-Orange liqueur obviously has a more strong and alcoholish flavor to it. I used this and the flavor did mellow after a day. Orange zest is a bit bitter so this definitely needs to be coupled with a hearty tablespoon of orange juice

-These go excellent with a strong cup of black coffee

- I love chocolate and I recommend using dark chocolate to coat these