Hello everyone! What a busy week in the world of Paleo dieting around here…meal planning, grocery shopping, (which has become much easier and cheaper with the help of some great advice and thanks to the good people of Trader Joes and Costco!) Plus, my husband and I officially had and celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We went out to eat at our favorite little French restaurant where I could order a delicious artichoke appetizer, and have a steak and salad like a normal person. No special “leave off this” or “could you please substitute that”. This in itself was a wonderful, relaxing experience. 🙂 (Plus, we got grandma to watch the kids so we could cut food just for ourselves and did not need a shop-vac when we were done eating our food and the kids were done practicing newton’s laws of motion with theirs). I was also approved by my brother, the fitness guru personal trainer, to have A GLASS of RED wine. Woot! Woot! I savored my glass of Pinot Noir (something I wouldn’t have touched with a 3-foot selfie-stick before this diet thing). Of course my husband, reverting back to being the teenage boy I met in high school, encouraged me to have some more as he smiled slyly. I just laughed and said “For the carbs in another glass, I can have some of that fantastic looking cheese focaccia bread in our basket. Take my glass…pass the freakin’ basket”. He just laughed and we carried on our conversation, which somehow ended up like this:

Me: “Contrary to belief, teachers do not have eyes in the back of their heads”    Husband: “But didn’t ‘The Teacher From The Black Lagoon” have some?            Me: “I don’t know, but didn’t she also eat half a kid to demonstrate fractions?”  Husband: “That’s gross.”                                                                                                       Me: “Why, it’s all meat…probably very paleo friendly” 

Yes. These are my thoughts lately about just about EVERYTHING…is it “paleo friendly?” It’s almost 2nd nature, it’s kinda scary. But here’s the really scary thing…I’m already HALFWAY THROUGH my “whole 30”!!!! I am seriously counting down the days. (and happily counting down the weight and “flubber” lost!) But I have found a secret survival weapon that I will share with you…even better than whipping out the nut sack…it’s packing the fudge. (yup, went there again) The PALEO Fudge! Let me tell you about this discovery.

Every month, 4 of my college sorority girlfriends and I get together to have a 3-hour dinner in which we stay caught up with each other’s lives (when we aren’t texting ridiculous emojis to each other and sharing cute pics of our ridiculously adorable kids). We each take a turn selecting a new place to dine and chat. This month, my good friend C called me and said she was planning to have us to her house for yoga instruction and a paleo friendly meal, and wanted to run the menu by me. Not only is C an amazing thoughtful friend to accommodate my crazy eating habits and save me from another “Harry Met Sally” ordering fiasco, but she is a culinary goddess, for she found and perfected the Paleo dessert delight of Paleo fudge. It is 5 fabulous ingredients and only 3g of carbs per serving. I will post a link to the recipe at the end of this blog entry. (I swear you will want it, paleo or not…all at dinner enjoyed it!)

This fudge has been the lifeline for my sweet tooth. For over 2 weeks, I have not had ANY form of sweets besides my banana-nut-cardboard bars that helps me escape having to eat egg beaters. All things considered, I truly think I have been doing pretty well with the diet stuff. I am not constantly hungry, but I still want something even a little sweet…remember; no fruit for 2 more weeks…and despite everything I read in the “official” whole 30 site or what my brother tells me, my body has not yet “reset” the desire for something sweet. I found this out the hard way when searching for some chips in the pantry for my son. Yes, the “forbidden pantry”. With the rare exception of getting a canned vegetable out of it, I don’t eat ANY foods you find in a pantry. They are all processed, carb heavy foods. When you paleo, you might as well turn that into some extra space for your craft supplies or rent it out as a room to some poor college student. But, I have three other people who have stuff to eat in there. Anyway, in the pantry I pushed aside some BBQ potato chips (so over craving those), but hiding behind them was a rogue box of GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. Not just any cookies… the THIN MINTS. I hadn’t thought of cookies or sweets in days, but SEEING the BEST ONES in my freaking FACE was almost the breaking point. I needed something chocolate-y. Luckily that night, C introduced me to my new BFF “Paleo fudge”. Yes, I must limit my intake to 1 serving a day, but it’s something I can look forward to or fall back on when the sweet craving strikes.

For example, we plan on having friends and neighbors over for hot dogs and s’mores over the campfire this week-end. Now instead of lamenting I can’t have the s’mores, I can just pack some fudge for my enjoyment. 😉

Here’s the site so you can make and pack your own fudge:

http://fitbottomedeats.com/2014/07/sweet-tooth-craving-five-ingredient-paleo-fudge/