Paleo update and this week's favorite links

No recipe post tonight, just saying hi, and spreading the blogworld love. I will, however, share what I ate for dinner, because it rocked!

Scrumptious Slow Cooker Chicken...and indeed it was! I followed the recipe as posted by Sarah, only I subbed 2 large chicken breasts for the thighs. Oh, and olive oil for the coconut. It was amazing! And my husband liked it too! I picked the onions out of his, of course ;) Next time, I am adding TWICE as many carrots and parsnips though. I seriously felt like I was cheating and eating real potatoes. An awesome dinner to come home to after a long day at work. Ate it w/ some salad fixin's fresh from my garden. Yum!

If you want to know details on what I've been up to over the past week as far as my 30 day paleo challenge goes, head over to Wellness Mama's forum, where I've started a wellness journal. I'm posting my food log, thoughts, plans, workouts, etc. I'm having loads of fun exploring her site, and am excited about some great giveaways too!

You can't fix a body you hate: This is the post I wish I could send to my past self (anytime 2-6 years ago), and to all my beautiful friends who don't feel comfortable in their own skin. Thanks Sarah and Jason for sharing it! It makes me appreciate who I am today even more, flaws and all! Thanks also to my amazing, supportive husband who has always praised my body, even when I felt I was at my worst. Jason has some great points to make. I'm excited to read more from him on his blog, plus he's already super cool in my book, being a fellow Oregonian (can I still count myself as one, even though the last third of my life has been lived in Utah?). Anyway, read the post!

Need more motivation to go paleo/grain-free/eat bacon? Primal Toad's got you covered with his 11 tips to living an awesome life. It really is an awesome way to live your life. I agree wholeheartedly with this post, but my favorite tips would have to be #2 and #9 ;)

Speaking of the good life, the hubby and I are taking the day off tomorrow for some R&R. He's taking the GMAT on Saturday, and we're using tomorrow to charge the batteries. I'm so excited! Massages, movies, lunch, and hopefully some time in the sun. I'm even more excited to have the whole thing behind us, and finally see my husband again (I feel like it's been months!!). Maybe we'll even get to go on a hike together before the summer is over!

Me and Grok on top of the world.

It's taken me almost a year, but I'm finally living this paleo/primal life...

and I LOVE IT!

Week three has been a tough one, in ways other than the diet mostly, but I have had some discouraging days where I'm unprepared to eat. I've found that I'm eating more at the beginning of the day, and not as hungry in the evenings, which helps. I've made some incredible food, which I'm so excited to share (at a later date). Well, it's almost 9:00...which means bedtime (for two more nights)!

Later!

Cranberry Chicken

Sorry, my husband says this picture looks disgusting. It's the only one I have, so I'm still using it. I've decided that *when* I write a cookbook, I'm definitely going to put pictures in it for each recipe. Once I learn how to better photograph food, that is. All in due time...

I've had this recipe bookmarked for a couple months, but only recently decided to give it a go. Wish I had tried it sooner, cuz I loved it! Except for the part where the carrots weren't cooked enough and I hurt my already-sensitive-newly-braces-covered teeth. I ended up picking them out.
This recipe is great! Seriously! Good, autumn recipe :)

Adapted from "Fix It and Forget It" slow cooker cookbook. I decided I didn't want to wait all day to try this recipe, so I made it work in the oven. The measurements and times are all approximate. Will post the crock pot variation once I try it.

Cranberry Chicken

2 lb chicken pieces (I used a couple of breasts)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 c diced celery
1/4 c diced carrots (original recipe called for onions, I didn't have any though)
1/4 onion powder
1 c whole cranberries (original recipe called for cranberry sauce)
1/2 c bbq sauce (I made my own from a BHG cookbook recipe)

Combine cranberries and bbq sauce. Simmer in a saucepan for at least 15 minutes, until the berries burst. Mash the berries with a potato smasher or fork. Add veggies and seasonings, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, until veggies are soft.
Place chicken in a baking dish, and drizzle sauce over it. Cover with tinfoil, and bake at 375 for about half an hour, until chicken is cooked.
This is great served over rice. I loved the extra sauce on the rice. Might make a little more next time.