Paleo 5

Happy Friday!!  I'm so glad to be linking up with some of my favorite bloggers (Natasha, Darci, April, and Christina) for their "Five on Friday" linkup. :)  As I mentioned earlier, I have begun a Paleo 30 day challenge and wanted to share 5 things it has taught me.  You can find the link to the particular challenge I'm following here.

{1} Be Prepared 
(Seriously just had the Lion King song of the same title run through my head!  ha!)

With Paleo you eat lots of protein, veggies and fruits, so prepping those the night before has been so helpful for the next day.  For example, one of the breakfast options is two eggs, half an avocado and two pieces of bacon, so I thought how handy would it be to have all the eggs prepped for the week.  I decided boiled eggs would be the simplest, so I boiled the eggs we would need on Sunday evening and it has been so convenient to have them all ready to go in the fridge!  Also, chicken is on the menu in several different varieties: as the entree for dinner and also there is a delicious recipe for chicken salad for lunch.  I put a little chicken broth in the bottom of my crockpot one morning and added as many chicken breasts as would fit well and turned it on to cook all day.  When we got home, we had plenty of chicken for dinner and also to make the chicken salad!

{2} Sunflower Butter is Delish!

Before I started this program, I had never tried sunflower butter.  In reality, I didn't even know it existed! :)  I'm so glad I know now because it is so good!!  Of course, I love sunflower seeds, so it makes sense that I would love sunflower butter and this program offers apples with sunflower butter as a snack during the day, so I have definitely been enjoying that. :)

{3} Expect to Nap

I don't know if everyone experiences this, but I read on Robin's blog that it is normal to not have a lot of energy on her day 3 post and I found this to be the case.  Yesterday was my day 4 and I noticed a huge increase in energy, but day 2 and 3, I actually fell asleep on the couch and then woke up and went straight to bed!  Fortunately the energy lack didn't plague me all day, but in the evenings after watching a little TV, I was zonked. :)

{4} Morning Yoga is Amazing


I love yoga and this is one of the workout videos that Robin uses in the challenge.  It is so relaxing and on the days that Robin lists it, I've been doing the video in the evening.  I've found it to be very calming and soothing and a great way to unwind at the end of the day!

{5}  Change at Starbucks can be Good!

My typical go-to at Starbucks has been a skinny vanilla latte or a soy chai latte -- YUM!  However, Paleo restricts soy and dairy, so I was faced with a new dilemma on my recent Starbucks visit -- what do I order?  I read up a little bit on what is and isn't allowed on Paleo and there seems to be a little uncertainty about the role of caffeine, so I thought I would find out about the decaf tea options.  Enter my new favorite tea!

The Tazo Vanilla Rooibos tea is so delicious and has just a touch of sweet, so it is the perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon (or both!) pick me up!!

Then, this morning my sweet friend brought me a tin of my favorite tea!  What a sweet treat!!

Thanks for stopping by to read my Friday 5!  I hope you all have a great weekend!!