Prepping for Paleo

I am absolutely exhausted tonight! After traveling through the night and finally getting back to Nashville around noon, I was pumped to get to the grocery store to prep for Paleo. I first headed to Trader Joe's because their prices tend to be best on select items like almond butter and coconut oil. I also hit up Wholefoods for most of my protein. After reading several Paleo blogs and a few cookbooks, I figured that Chad and I would throw down about 12lbs of meat a week. That seemed like quite a lot to me but this week is about trial and error so I'll see how far we get. I knew that this first grocery run would be fairly pricey, because I needed both coconut and olive oil, as well as some other basics. Now that I'm set with the staples, future trips should be less expensive. I ended up spending about $72.90 at Trader Joe's and here's what I got:

A dozen eggs
Raw almond butter
uncured turkey bacon
brussel sprouts
3 cans organic tomato paste
2 cans marinara
120z blueberries
coconut oil
olive oil
1lb strawberries
plantain chips
1lb raw almonds
2 large bell peppers
1 bag carrot/broccoli slaw
1 avocado
1 bunch aspargus
garlic
1 carton egg whites
7 bananas

For $80.01 at Wholefoods I got:

1lb 80/20 grnd beef
3lbs organic chicken thighs
3lbs organic chicken breast
2 turkey chorizo links
1 lbs grnd turkey
1 pack chicken breakfast sausage
stevia
2 organic onions
3 lbs sweet potatoes
romaine lettuce
prewashed spinach
2 jalepenos
ginger root
cashew butter

I realize that this seems like a ton of food, and it is, but I pride myself on cooking rather than eating out so this should be about right. Once I got finally got home I got to work washing and prepping everything.

I always like to have cooked chicken on hand for a quick snack, so I cranked to oven to 250, seasoned 2 lbs of chicken with  sea salt and garlic, wrapped it in parchment, and let it cook for about 40 minutes. Once done, the chicken is super moist and can easily be pulled apart. I put the chicken in a glass container and into the fridge it went. I scrubbed all the fresh veggies and got them ready to use for the week. I also made some yummy ketchupy sauce because Chad and I are huge fans of condiments. It is so easy to do and this way, you know exactly what goes into it.

Ketchup!
1 can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 squirt brown mustard
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

combine ingredients in a sauce pot and let simmer for 20 minutes. Enjoy! I actually tripled this recipe today so that I would have a lot on hand.

Then I decided to get dinner going. I was craving some Italian tonight so I grabbed the broccoli slaw mix, an onion, the ground turkey, marinara, garlic, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, and asparagus. I diced half an onion and 3 garlic cloves and sauteed them in coconut oil until the onions were translucent. I then added about a cup of the broccoli slaw and let it cook down for about 5 minutes. I added the ground turkey and cooked until browned. Lastly, I added the whole can of marinara and allowed everything to simmer for about 10 minutes.  While the turkey was cooking I halved a cup of brussels and a bell pepper, and prepped 5 asparagus spears. I coated everything in melted coconut oil and a little salt and pepper. I roasted the veggies at 350 for about 20 minutes. 

I topped the turkey with some crushed red pepper and ate it over the bell pepper, along with the brussels. The asparagus was for Chad since he is not a brussel fan. All in all I think it turned out great and It was definitely the fuel I need after a crazy travel day. Looking forward to starting the challenge tomorrow!