I'm getting really good at convincing myself that non-Paleo food items are disgusting. Peanuts? Never liked them, anyway. Cheese is just plain gross, you know? I like to actually think of sugar as the devil sometimes. And milk? That shit is for babies. I don't yet feel as strongly against chocolate croissants, but I'm sure I'll get there. It's a work in progress.

So when I saw Katie eating some blueberries with almond butter and almond milk at the end of this post, I thought, "Oh my God! It's like cereal!" Except that it's better than cereal, because cereal is boring and devoid of nutritional content, ya dig?

This is currently my favorite dessert and/or snack.

I went to the grocery store and got strawberries instead of blueberries, because the strawberries were on sale for a ridiculously low price. Then almond butter went into the cart, followed by unsweetened almond milk. All of these ingredients are Paleo staples that I get every time I go shopping, but that I had never thought of putting into one bowl together and eating at the same time until now. I finished it with some shredded coconut and a little drizzle of honey. 

Other than how delicious it is, my favorite thing about this guy is how easy it is to assemble a little jar at night, screw the top on, put it in the refrigerator while you sleep, throw it in your bag and bring it to work the next morning. Breakfast!

If there's one thing in life that can make me throw my Paleo lifestyle right out the window without even thinking, it's Chinese food. I think part of it is because a lot of the time, this cuisine presents itself either in buffet or delivery form, and honestly, who can say no to that? But, if there's one thing in life that can make me gain four pounds overnight and wake up with a wicked headache, it's also Chinese food. Too much hidden sugar, too much soy sauce, too many noodles.

What's a girl to do?

Sometimes, you just have to work with what you've got. And if you're lucky, you've got ginger.

This recipe is so good that when you're done, you'll probably cut up another orange to soak up anything left in the pan. 

Don't believe me?

Let's just get to it, then.

Ginger-Orange Chicken

served with Garlic-Sesame Asparagus

Ingredients:

for the chicken

1 package chicken breasts

2 juicy oranges

1 clove garlic

salt, pepper

ginger root

--

for the asparagus

1 bunch asparagus

2-3 teaspoons sesame oil

2-3 cloves garlic

sesame seeds

Make the chicken

1. In a bowl, pour the juice of one orange over chicken breasts. Season with salt, pepper, and grated ginger. Let it marinade for as little or as long as you'd like. (I did this on a whim the first time, so they only marinated long enough for me to heat up the pan.)

2. Place the marinated chicken breasts in a hot pan. Pour contents of the bowl over them. Grate a little more fresh ginger and let it simmer in the sauce.

This is the moment when I knew I was doing something right.

3. Once the chicken has cooked, squeeze half of another orange over them and stir around.

4. Take the chicken out and cut into strips. Throw them back in the pan to ensure that all sides of the chicken are coated with sauce. Plate them, garnish with a slice of orange, and serve with garlic-sesame asparagus.

Make the asparagus

1. Clean asparagus and cut them into three sections (so you can use chopsticks!)

2. Saute in another pan with sesame oil and garlic. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Now put that delivery menu down, man.

There are things that I never knew I loved until I went Paleo. Like muffins. I mean, I've always liked muffins, but I've never been someone who sees a muffin and thinks, I need to eat that thing. More often than not, when I used to see a muffin, I wouldn't really even look at it twice. But now that I can't actually have a muffin, sometimes a muffin is actually all I want.

You know?

This recipe came from here.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups almond flour

3 large eggs

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix together dry ingredients. 

3. Add in beaten eggs, honey, vanillla, applesauce, and carrots. Mix well.

4. Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil. Do it well--these babies stick!

5. Pour in muffin batter.

6. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Enjoy them for breakfast. With tea.