Still here, still paleo

Well then, that was quite the break from blogging, wasn't it?  Originally, I had no intention of taking a break.  But then Brandon went on a work trip at the beginning of November for 10 days, during which the little dudes and I all got the sicky/achey/yuckies.  Jack stayed home from school for the entire week.  We ate McDonalds drive-thru for dinner three straight days because all I could muster the energy to do was strap the kids in the car and it was the only thing Sam would eat.  And if you ever been around a sick, tired, cranky, hungry kid, you would give him anything to make him not hungry.  Everything is worse when you're hungry.  Definitely not my proudest parenting moment, but reality none the less.

Anyway, once Brandon returned and we dug ourselves out of the pit that we were living in, the holidays were in full swing and something had to give.  So, off the blogging wagon I fell.  However, other than those dark McDonald days, we have no plans to ditch the paleo lifestyle.  We did chill out a bit during the holidays and allowed ourselves to enjoy (and enjoy we did!) treats and things that we don't normally indulge in.  And it was very enjoyable.  Not guilt ridden in the least.  I think that food is something to be enjoyed and savored.  Often times, we kill ourselves over restrictions and rules, but we fail to actually enjoy what we're eating.  There is so much to enjoy about the holidays -- family, friends, events, gatherings -- and food is often a big part of that.  And that's not a bad thing!

However, the one thing that eating like that does is to make me feel a little "off".  I definitely lacked energy and just didn't feel great.  To be honest, I felt like I used to feel all the time.  I never realized how "off" I used to feel until we went paleo.  I thought I just felt like any other mom of young kids feels, but I didn't realize how much my eating had to do with how I felt.

Alright, lots of thoughts floating around in my head and stuff to share, but that will have to wait until another night.  I've got some meal prep and laundry yet to do tonight before my love gets home from work.  I'll leave you with a rough recipe of the one thing I managed to make when the boys and I were sick all the way back in November...

This was as close to comfort food and I could get with my limited energy.  Cooked and chopped chicken, thrown in a pot with a head of chopped up broccoli, some chopped carrots, a head of shredded cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic, and salt. And then finished off with a bit of heavy cream at the end. It was delicious, comforting, easy, made lots of leftovers, and - most importantly - not from the drive-thru.