Day 11 - closing in on the halfway mark!

Day 11 - honestly, 30 days will fly by in no time.

Breakfast was a slice of leftover frittata and a sweet potato. My boss took us to lunch today (Outback at my request - because seriously, they are the most accommodating) and I had the usual.  This particular location has questionable water, but I managed to down two glasses. They were crazy slow - and not busy. Lunch was a bit early for me, since I work until almost 7 so I had a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar (it had coconut in it...that was the only similarity to coconut cream pie) it was good and I also had 5 dates stuffed with raw cashews. 

Apparently two hours of grocery shopping wasn't enough for me yesterday, so I went from work to my "Secret Publix" and as I said before I was in and out in under 30 minutes including parking, unloading all the plastic bags and foam trays, stuffing them in the recycle bins and covering most of the store. Yay for recycling! Cleared a big pile out of my living room by finally taking the bags. I picked up an onion, 2 containers of cut cantaloupe (it was BOGO and I HATE cutting melon - I don't care how much cheaper it is to DIY!), 10 bags of frozen veggies and TWO TREATS! You have no idea how excited I am about the treats. I found 10 ounce bottles of sparkling 100% apple juice and in the with the regular sparkling juices I found a big bottle of 100% apple-cranberry. FIZZY DRINK! Pricey at $1.59 and $4.29, but I will enjoy them. 

Mr. P. made another pound of clarified butter - errr reduced a pound of butter to however much is left that is now clarified? Whatever.  Dinner was a really good, juicy boneless pork chop with sauteed green beans and balsamic rosemary potatoes. I asked him if he thought we could continue to eat this way most of the time and his response was "I'm still pretty p*ssed about no beer, no cheese and no bread!" mmmmkay. Well, he will continue to cook this way for dinner for me and he can have beer with it. It'll work out. I'm pretty sure the grocery budget has gone up LESS than the dining out budget has gone down so we're also saving money. Plus I can actually go back to running errands on my lunch break which will be awesome. I'm pretty sure I can continue to eat this way - once you're prepared it's not hard. I'll get better at food prep as well. 

Here's the recipe for the pork chops. 

Apple Cider Vinegar Pork Chops (Low Carb and Paleo):

4 thick cut pork chops (bone-in preferred)
3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup homemade bone broth/chicken stock (check the ingredients if it isn’t homemade)

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste.  Sear the pork chops for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.  Add the apple cider vinegar and chicken stock and scrape up the bits of food off the bottom of the pan.  Cover the skillet loosely with foil and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the pork chops are cooked through.  Serve the pan gravy over the pork chops.

I hope eating this way actually makes the change my doctor says it will - 

The same co-worker (who happens to be a nurse) pulled me aside today and asked if I felt any different. She said "Truly, even since last week your face looks different, you just look different." 

The first time I'm sure it was diet related. This week - maybe it's diet related, maybe it's because I got my hair done? I mean it's not really "different" per se - I had a Brazilian Blowout with a Keratin top coat done on Friday. No real cut - though he did trim the ends - I suspect because he didn't trim them evenly last time and now that my hair is more straight it showed LOL, no color change...just silky, shiny, straight hair. I love it by the way - can't keep my fingers out of it! My hair is thick, coarse and has just enough of a natural wave to be a frizzy mess in the Florida humidity. I typically spend 30 -45 minutes blow drying it straight with a lovely smelling combination of a serum, a creme, and a heat protector. If I'm feeling super motivated I also go over the top layer with a flat iron. Not having to do that will be a Godsend!