30 Days of Paleo Starts Now

I'm taking the plunge into Paleo! My diet now is very healthy and mostly low-carb, but I was looking for something that would give me fast results.  I have a friend who started Crossfit and the Paleo diet

My Challenge: Adhere to a Paleo diet as strictly as I can for 30 days.

Goal:  Slim down and lose winter's extra padding in time for a ladies trip to Las Vegas, which will include skin-revealing LBDs and pool parties! Bonus benefits - I'm hoping to sleep better at night and have more energy during the day.

Guide:  A friend loaned me this book; it's the guide I'm using to get started plus the numerous cooking blogs and websites out there.

Getting Started: Some Paleo "get started" guides recommend cleaning out your fridge and pantry of anything non-Paleo. I think this is a great idea for people who tend to give into temptation when they have goodies in the house. I opted not to throw good food away (at least donate it to a friend or local foodbank!), because I may not stick with this diet longer than 30 days! So far I have been able to resist, although my mind does often wander to those Thin Mints in the freezer. Why do I always agree to buy those then regret it later?! Glutton for punishment, I tell ya.

Prep Work: In order to be successful at the Paleo diet, I had to purchase some unusual ingredients right up front. These included clarified butter, almond flour, almond butter, and coconut oil, lots of nuts. All of these I purchased online at Vitacost.com for half the price at my local grocery store. Raw nuts I purchased at Nuts.com. Meal planning takes a bit more time and effort. Luckily, my hubby has decided to try Paleo as well so we don't have to worry about two versions of the same meal. The nights before he does a morning run he may end up having a cup of rice to give him fuel to last overnight. We're still experimenting to see what will work.

Now on to the recipes! Wish me luck!