I can’t wait for this work week to be over – it’s been busy EVERY single night. Come to think of it, by my fifth night shift in a row I think I start getting whiny no matter what the workload. Oh well. Luckily, I packed a bunch of Paleo eats to fuel me through the night.
At around 2:00 a.m., I ate a box of sous vide Tabil-seasoned chicken breast with leftover sautéed spinach and bacon and nuked green beans.
A couple hours later, I snacked on a small container of coconut flakes and toasted almond slivers…
…and coconut milk and mixed berries(!) from the farmers’ market.
Even though it’s January, the berries were really sweet. Could it be that I’m just more sensitive to sweetness now that I’ve cut refined carbs out of my diet? Maybe.
My last meal of the night was a leftover box of kelp noodles. See? It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
When I returned home, I took the kids to school to drop off Big-O. As soon as we got back to our abode, I went to bed right away because I knew I’d have a lot to do when I woke up. My mother-in-law’s MRI was scheduled in the evening at 8:00 p.m. and I needed to feed everyone, pack my meals for work, and shower before we left.
When I awoke, I took my previously sous vided pork chops out of the fridge to come up to room temperature while I prepared the vegetable side dishes. I grabbed my ingredients for roasted broccoli and bacon (organic broccoli, Fatted Calf slab bacon, and avocado oil)…
…tossed everything together with some salt and pepper, and placed it in the oven to roast at 400 F for about 35 minutes.
I also minced 2 shallots and chopped up a head of cauliflower for cauliflower fried “rice”. Since I made a platter of braised cabbage the night before, I just reheated it in the microwave.
I heated a couple tablespoons of lard in my cast iron skillet and I seared the pork chops for 90 seconds on each side. I wanted to char them longer but they were only ½ inch chops so I didn’t want to overcook them.
Once I removed the chops, I prepared my cauliflower fried “rice” in my “dirty” pan. I added a splash of boxed chicken broth to deglaze the skillet and a little bit of coconut aminos for additional seasoning (besides salt and pepper).
The dark color is definitely from the pan frond and not the coconut aminos. Those are some tasty browned bits.
By the time I finished preparing the “rice,” the roasted broccoli and bacon was ready as well. I drizzled on some aged balsamic vinegar and brought it to the table.
Here’s my dinner plate (on the table in about 45 minutes):
After dinner, I had to hustle to get myself ready for work and the imaging appointment. As I was packing my meals for work, I realized I only had one box of leftovers available. Was I worried? For a split second, yes. But then I remembered that I can always throw together a frittata in about 15 minutes that could be split into two servings. I dug through our fridge and made a frittata with 5 eggs, diced Fatted Calf bacon, nuked frozen broccoli, and a heaping tablespoon of full-fat Greek yogurt.
I know a lot of Paleo eaters avoid dairy but I don’t experience any untoward side effects and I really love the taste of cheese, full fat yogurt, butter, and ghee. Plus, if it’s okay with Dr. Harris of PaNu and handsome nerd scientist, Mat Lalonde, it’s okay with me. Or that’s who I’m hiding behind if I get confronted about consuming dairy by an angry caveman.
After I finished packing my stuff for work, the three of us left to go to the MRI appointment. We’re all anxiously awaiting her results because we’ll finally know the staging of her breast cancer and how best to tackle it. I get paid to have sleepless nights – they don’t.
