And so it began...

Below is my attempt to share with you in a nutshell how a busy, southern family switched their eating habits to paleo/primal.

I am No writer, in fact always hated it, but I LOVE to talk and share with others what I learn and works for me and my own... So here goes nothin'. :)

About 2 months ago, after a workout @ Crossfit Brigade, I was presented with a challenge, more specifically, a NUTRITIONAL CHALLENGE...with PRIZES, set to start in the new year.

My ADHD brain went into overdrive!!!!! I was thinking so many things at once, I could barely concentrate.

First thought: Sweet! A competition! I feel my best when I take on a challenge to BE the best, or at least DO more than those around me. ;) Second thought: Awesome! I need a reason to get the whole family eating right again. We've gotten SO offtrack this semester. (my fault mostly) Third thought: Yes! I get to cook more again! We get to try new things. Fourth thought: Maybe this will take off the last 20 lbs I've been nearly bursting with frustration to get off before my foot surgery in March.

So then I forced myself to pay attention. I absorbed everything that was being said, written on the whiteboard, and the tidbits people were saying. I NEEDED to know more!!!

So I went home, told the family what I was planning on for the new year, and was ready for the onslaught of complaints. They didn't disappoint me. :)

But I wasn't to be deterred.

So began my quest for knowledge for this, this Paleo/Primal style of eating. I spent hours researching online for meal ideas, others ideas, etc...I had to arm myself with facts and a slew of positively slanted meal plans that satisfied even the pickiest member...ahem...Jonah.

And I found my first obstacle was neatly taken down, albeit grudgingly so, with little blood or tears shed, I am grateful to admit. So then, I set out to tackle the next easiest, cleaning out the cabinets of foods that didn't go with the new eating style.

I began talking to the kids more about what meals would look like for us during the challenge. What ideas did they have? What about lunch? I enjoyed sharing ideas with them but what I liked more was how their attitude became less of what they were going to be deprived of and more, what combinations of their favorite foods can they bring for lunch.

My cabinets had been stocked for the last 8 months with the steals and deals I had gotten from couponing. The problem was that I had picked up the bad habit of getting the cheap, processed foods that were easy to cook or transport because I now justified that I could afford them and we were so much busier this semester. I had become a food HOARDER.

(Thankfully Thanksgiving was coming up and I knew the schools would be asking for dry goods' donations for the Food Bank. That took care of one large cabinet of cereals, chicken helpers, instant potatoes, etc...)

I determined to ONLY buy the basics at the store with the lowest overall prices for the next several weeks-ALDI. Eggs, milk, bread, fresh fruit, sandwich stuff... Our grocery bill dropped down to about $40 a week thanks to the food hoarding from the previous months.

My once full cabinets are more or less bare of 'contraband' foods. My justification for holding on to them are for church supper on Wednesday nights and my monthly dessert making for older two's school. (They're ALWAYS having one function or another.)

So my story in a nutshell happens to be not that at all. If you're southern, you know how we tend to tell stories...or directions for the matter. So this is to be continued at another time.